Should the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority approve the proposed development at Ta' Cenc, the project will take up a total of 149.2 hectares equivalent to 1.49 million square metres of environmentally sensitive land.
The land taken up by the proposed zones can be divided into five: the hotel area, protected areas, the part where the building of villas is proposed, and the beach of Ta' Kantra and a fifth zone which use is still to be determined.
Sixty-three per cent of the land dedicated to the project is earmarked as a 'protected area'. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment, this area will also include a heritage park which will take more than half of the dedicated space, and also an interpretation centre.
The project as proposed in 2015 reduces the area of land dedicated to the hotel by one hectare, to 10.7 hectares of land.
The zone marked as a protected area, adds up to some 94 hectares of the total. This marks an increase from the 87.5 originally assessed in the EIA of 2007.
The future of almost a quarter of the land owned by Victor Borg is unknown. In fact, 35.3 hectares are marked as 'use to be determined'.
The footprint dedicated to the beach of Ta' Kantra remained unchanged from what was proposed in 2007, at 0.15 hectares.
EIA concludes that if contained, development will not cause significant damage
The Environmental Impact Assessment team, headed by Paul Gauci, has concluded that, based on the information provided, consultants are of the opinion that the development, "if contained and mitigated as recommended", is not expected to cause significant long-term effects on the conservation objectives of Natura 2000.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Gauci explained that the issue in question has an enormous element of subjectivity.
"First of all, one can be subjective in terms of aesthetics. We can agree or disagree whether the project is nice or not. But one must also consider another subjective matter, which evaluates the balance between what untouched land will be destroyed and the benefit of the project. It is not my duty to comment on these two. I am here to present facts."
He explained that when this huge piece of land was bought, land was not an issue that it is today: only six per cent of land was built. The rest was all green.
Mr Gauci explained that most of the conclusions found in the latest EIA report are very similar to what was established in the assessment conducted in 2007.
Practically, as explained by Mr Gauci, the same flora and fauna which would have been destroyed in 2007 or in the previous proposals in the area are the same as today.
Bird's habitat destruction still debatable
A debatable issue regards birds, their habitat and migratory cycles.
The EIA does analyse the disturbance to birds as a result of construction noise including construction work and related heavy vehicle traffic. The nature of the impact in this case is described as 'adverse'. It mentions that these negative effects will probably only last until the construction phase is concluded. The damage that this will cause, however, is irreversible, the assessment found.
The impact assessment set a number of aims which have to be maintained if Mepa gives the project the green light.
It aims to "maintain the range and population size" of various avifauna, their population size and habitat.
The EIA mentions a wide range of birds which frequent the area and explained that the project will ensure that the range of migratory passerines within the site is maintained, to maintain the importance of the site for migratory passerines, and to maintain the open country habitat of migratory passerines.
"To complement rural tourism and outdoor recreation activities (bird watching, hiking and rock climbing) with the site's conservation needs by setting up an appropriate operational framework and by raising ecological awareness among locals and visitors," the report adds.
Fresh proposal includes an extension of 118 guest rooms to hotel
At present, the hotel area includes 90 guest rooms, a lounge area, restaurant, spa/gymnasium, and three external swimming pools among other amenities.
The latest development proposes an additional two-storey semi-basement terraces, two-storey semi-detached villas and an extension of 118 rooms to the current Ta' Cenc hotel for guest rooms including 11 family suites and one presidential suite.
The hotel extension also includes an underground car park and an outdoor swimming pool.
Following the removal of the Sannat Hotel from the plans, all the buildings in the current proposals are designed to be low-lying, with the 'Ta'Ċenċ trullo' being the dominant architectural feature in the Hotel Area.
Developer Victor Borg presented first development proposals in 1996
The application was originally submitted by Italian company Mastrocinque, on behalf of the German firm Real Finanza. The Italians were then replaced by Gozitan entrepreneur Mr Borg acting on behalf of Real Finanz.
The latter's involvement in the Ta' Ċenċ project brought about substantial changes to the original 1996 proposals. These modifications involved a substantial reduction in the intensity and scale of the development, with more emphasis put on holiday accommodation and tourism related amenities.
Mr Borg is the managing director of Victor J. Borg Enterprises Ltd. The company operates 5-star Hotel Ta' Cenc, 4-star Cornucopia Hotel and a number of self-catering housing in Xaghra. He also owns the St Patrick's Hotel in Xlendi and a car-hire company called Gozo Garage.
Since the late 1960s, the Ta' Ċenċ area has been considered a prime site for upmarket tourism development. Hotel Ta' Ċenċ was constructed in this period and has since been recognised as one of the more important features of the tourism product in Gozo. The creation of most of the existing infrastructure, such as the road network and the construction of the villas also took place during this period.
The Ta' Ċenċ saga has been going on for almost two decades, with various proposals being presented to Mepa by the same developers. All the proposals have been met with harsh criticism, as the public and environmental NGOs insist that the plans will lead to the destruction of magnificent countryside.
Mepa held a public consultation meeting regarding the project but the fresh proposals were met with harsh opposition.
The meeting, which was held at the Sannat Local Council, was attended by various environmental lobbyists such as Birdlife Malta, Din l-Art Helwa and Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar. Mr Borg was also present at the meeting, accompanied by a number of Ta' Cenc hotel employees.
When contacted by this newsroom, Sannat Mayor Philip Vella said there is a possibility that residents would be asked to vote in a referendum about the development at Ta' Cenc.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/1n6PVk4
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment