Villa Bologna: scheduled but not yet safe

Villa Bologna: scheduled but not yet safe

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) joins the owners of Villa Bologna in welcoming the news that MEPA has scheduled this property as a Grade 1 National Monument, helping to preserve it for posterity.

However, FAA is still concerned about the area behind Villa Bologna, known as Ta’ Fġieni, which has been promised to the residents as an open space for years. In spite of past assurances from both MEPA and the Local Council that the area would remain unbuilt, the area is now threatened by development. MEPA’s Local Plan states that because Attard has a shortage of recreational areas, its open spaces are to be protected. However, changes to the building scheme were passed to render it developable in spite of a residents’ petition to the contrary.

It is to be noted that the Attard area has over 1,000 vacant housing units and several large complexes currently being built will significantly increase that figure. Therefore, loosing the opportunity to create a public garden and instead build more flats destined to remain empty, defies all logic.

FAA therefore repeats its call for immediate revision of the Local Plan for the area, a call that has been echoed by the Attard Local Council. The issuing of permits to develop Ta’ Fġieni square will not only rob residents of their light, air and recreational space, it will also have a great negative impact on the national monument of Villa Bologna, robbing it of a buffer zone and eroding much of what has been achieved by the scheduling.

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar
19th July 2008