Nature Trust seriously concerned about proposals for racing track
Nature Trust (Malta) said in a statement it is seriously concerned about the recent claims made in the media that the site proposals for a racing track will be launched in the coming weeks and that it will be planned in an Outside Development Zone.
As stated in one of Sunday’s leading papers and which is worrying Nature Trust is that the number of ODZ applications that are lately being approved by the PA commission is very high. This means that although ODZ should be protected, these areas are being raped on a daily basis by the same authority which is duty-bound to enforce the law and regulate development.
The protest held against abuse of Outside Development Zones on 20 June 2015 was one of the largest environment protests in recent years. Since then, pressures on ODZ have continued incessantly, with developers proposing old people’s homes or luxury tourist accommodation under the pretext that the land in question is degraded.
This and the many individual applications for ODZ structures being granted on a weekly basis under the excuse of re-instating rural structures which predated the Structure Plan is smothering the little remaining ODZ areas we have on an already overdeveloped island.
Nature Trust condemns the attitude of the Representative of the Malta Automobile Club by blackmailing politicians with votes. Members of Parliament on both sides are fully aware that the thousands of people who protested on 20 June 2015 by far outweigh enthusiasts who claim to be members of the Motorsports Clubs.
Since then, the outcry against ODZ development has steadily increased. We have enough cars clogging our streets and polluting our air. Malta cannot and does not afford the space for showcasing cars on racetracks to satisfy the needs of a few enthusiasts. We owe the protection of our ODZ land to our children and future generations.
NTM only hopes that this will not be another project to eat up more of the few remaining ODZ areas on our islands. When will any party truly have a realistic environmental agenda?