Jerma Development Brief: Don’t destroy the local lifestyle, Moviment Graffitti urges PA

Moviment Graffitti has urged the Planning Authority not to destroy the lifestyle of Marsascala residents through its development brief for the site of the former Jerma Palace Hotel and advised that “the residents of Marsascala deserve a tourism development that is proportional to the size and infrastructure of the locality.”

Moviment Graffitti said as much in its submissions to the public consultation on the development brief issued by the Planning Authority for the area in which, until 2007, the luxurious hotel Jerma Palace used to operate.

After extensive consultation with Marsascala residents, Moviment Graffitti submitted a number of objections to the development brief, which, according to the organisation, completely ignores the devastating effects of massive development on the community and the local environment.

Moviment Graffitti noted, with approval, the call for the demolition of the existing building, which is now a danger to anyone who tries to access the coast, as well as an eyesore.

“It is clear that the development brief was drafted to accommodate applications already submitted to the Planning Authority,” Moviment Graffitti stressed yesterday.

It heavily criticized the fact that brief allows non-touristic use of the land occupied by the former hotel, reflecting an application submitted in 2018 for the development of a 15-storey building, which includes a hotel, but also over 166 apartments and shops on the same site.

Moviment Graffitti also recalled that the land was granted by the government in the eighties with the main purpose of fostering tourism in the south of Malta.

In its submissions, Moviment Graffitti criticised the fact that the development brief encourages massive development at a time when experts in the tourism industry are recognizing that mass tourism is no longer the best economic or social model, and that the future of tourism lies in smaller and more discerning investments which do not to interfere with the lives of residents. This is the exact opposite of what the development brief allows on the site of the former Jerma Palace, as it commits 100,000 square metres to development.

The residents’ concerns had also been reflected in these submissions, said Moviment Graffitti, which praised the economic activity and spirit of community created in the locality in recent years.

“It is clear that development of this scale would not only impact negatively the infrastructure of Marsascala, but also the lives of residents, with little long-term benefit to the locality,” it warned.

“In a saturated market such as is the case in Malta, the government should not allow further development on this scale, with little to no concern for those who will be living next door.”