Residents slam bipartisan backing for Pembroke sports and commercial project
Residents of Pembroke turned their anger on both major political parties on Saturday as they protested against a bipartisan decision to hand over virgin land for a major sports and commercial development.
Dozens of residents gathered at the site in Triq Gabriel Henin, joined by activists and several politicians, to voice opposition to the project, which they say will further overdevelop the locality and damage one of its remaining untouched areas.
Under plans approved unanimously by Parliament earlier this year, the land will be transferred to Valletta FC and Swieqi FC for the construction of two football pitches with spectator stands, a five-a-side ground, futsal facilities and a number of commercial outlets.
Residents insist the project was pushed through without proper consultation with the local community. They argue that the development will replace natural open land with an intensive complex that will generate significant traffic, noise and light pollution in an area already struggling with congestion caused by other major projects.
Pembroke has long been at the centre of disputes over large-scale development. Residents had previously mounted strong objections to the db Group’s proposed tower project at St George’s Bay and to planning changes linked to another major development at Villa Rosa. Concerns have also been raised in recent years about plans for a large Chinese embassy on undeveloped land in the locality.
The natural environment and quality of life in Pembroke are facing yet another very serious threat from destructive and unsustainable development, the protestors said in a statement.
No consultation has been held so far with residents or with other stakeholders, such as environmental NGOs, and no official plans have yet been published. However, it has been announced that the site will be handed over to sporting clubs for the development of two football pitches with spectator facilities, a five-a-side pitch, a futsal facility, administrative buildings, and other amenities.
“We emphasise that we are in no way opposed to sporting clubs having their own facilities, and we strongly support Valletta FC having its own football ground. However, we are absolutely certain that there are other sites where such activity can take place without destroying our natural heritage and creating intolerable conditions for residents and others who frequent the area,” the groups said.
Most of the site in question is untouched natural land that, besides having strong intrinsic value, also lies adjacent to a protected Natura 2000 site. It is widely recognised that the protection of such sites does not end abruptly at their boundary, but extends to the wider surrounding area where activities are likely to impact the Natura 2000 protected status, including its biodiversity.
“Pembroke will simply become another Paceville,” the statement said. The impacts on quality of life will be devastating, not only for residents, whose physical and mental wellbeing will deteriorate, but also for the many children who attend the childcare centre, primary school, and San Miguel Resource Centre, which caters for children with individual educational needs and is located right next to this site.
Anyone with experience of traffic in Pembroke already knows too well that a project of this sort is pure madness. The additional heavy traffic generated by such a development will make it almost impossible to enter or leave the locality, they said.
“We also have to highlight that while this project is being presented under the label of sporting facilities, Government has been actively incentivising the use of sporting facilities in Malta for unrelated commercial development. Under the Legal Notice on the Commercialisation of Sport Facilities, land designated for sport can also include development such as retail outlets, shopping malls, supermarkets and catering establishments,” the groups said.
Moreover, Government is currently seeking to amend the Local Plan to allow even further commercialisation of such sites, where sporting activity would become secondary to commercial activity. Alarmingly, even more intensive commercialisation would be permitted on “development brief” sites within the Local Plan, which happens to be the type of site earmarked for this development in Pembroke.
“We deem it totally unacceptable that decisions of such importance and impact are taken behind people’s backs and without any consideration of the harm they will bring to residents, communities, and nature. We call on Government and its authorities, as well as on the Opposition, to respect our communities, our natural heritage, and the common good of our country – this complex does not belong here,” the protesters said.
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