NGOs opposing the urban village being proposed by Hili Group on Comino are vowing to fight on to save the islet from further commercialisation and over-construction. The Court of Appeal turned down the NGO appeal over the adequacy of the Appropriate Assessment Report which was given the thumbs up by ERA.

ERA had given its seal of approval to the development of a high-end village on this Natura 2000 site even though it would entail substantial excavation, the destruction of extensive protected garrigue habitat, and significant environmental impacts to flora and fauna, including the marine environment. Hili Group’s proposal would see year-round disturbance at what would effectively be a commercial village instead of what is currently a tranquil environment, especially during less touristic months. The NGOs – BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti, NatureTrust-FEE, and Ramblers intend to challenge the application before the Planning Authority and other fora. “Comino is the last relatively pristine spot in the country. It is too precious to sacrifice on the altar of luxury development for the few” said an NGO representative.

******

Organizzazzjonijiet jaħilfu li se jiġġieldu biex isalvaw lill-Kemmuna mill-urbanizzazzjoni

Organizzazzjonijiet li qegħdin jopponu l-villaġġ urban propost minn Hili Group għall-Kemmuna jaħilfu li se jiġġieldu biex isalvaw lill-gżejra minn iktar kummerċjalizzazzjoni u kostruzzjoni żejda.  Il-Qorti tal-Appell ċaħdet l-appell tal-organizzazzjonijiet dwar kemm hu adegwat l-Appropriate Assessment Report li ġie approvat mill-ERA.

L-ERA kienet tat il-barka tagħha biex jiġi żviluppat villaġġ tal-ogħla livell fuq dan is-sit ta’ Natura 2000 avolja se jkun jinvolvi ħafna skavar, il-qerda estensiva ta’ xagħri protett, u impatt sostanzjali fuq il-flora u l-fawna, inkluż fuq l-ambjent marittimu. Il-proposta ta’ Hili Group se tkun qed tikkawża storbju u disturbi oħrajn permezz tal-attività li se tkun għaddejja f’dak li effettivament se jkun villaġġ kummerċjali minflok dak li bħalissa huwa ambjent trankwill, speċjalment waqt ix-xhur inqas turistiċi. L-organizzazzjonijiet  – BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti, NatureTrust-FEE, u Ramblers biħsiebhom jikkontestaw l-applikazzjoni quddiem l-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar u entitajiet oħrajn. “Kemmuna hija l-aħħar roqgħa relattivament mhux mittiefsa fil-pajjiż. Hija wisq prezzjuża biex nissagrifikawha fuq l-artal tal-iżviluppi lussużi għall-ftit”, qalet rappreżentanta tal-organizzazzjonijiet.