BirdLife Malta has cautioned against any premature rejoicing at the potential rejection by the MEPA Board of the Ta' Cenc development proposal and has drawn attention to a letter submitted to MEPA by the developer, Victor J. Borg, on the 20th of November, which declares his intention to amalgamate the existing hotel extension with the new proposed hotel in a way to make them look like one.

"Despite the fact that this particular area at Ta' Cenc is designated as a Bird Sanctuary and an Important Bird Area, Mr Borg still thinks that he can get away with this unacceptable development proposal by amalgamating it with the extension of the existing hotel. The area where he wants to build the new hotel under the pretext of 'extension' is still in the Bird Sanctuary and should MEPA accept this proposal it would set a very dangerous precedent and open other bird sanctuaries like Buskett to further development," said Tolga Temuge, Executive Director of BirdLife Malta.

Moreover, the same area the developer wants to build a new hotel under the pretext of extension is subject to a pending infringement procedure opened against Malta by the European Commission due to insufficient SPA designation and, therefore, no development should even be considered until the infringement procedure is completed and the outcome finalised, BirdLife Malta warned.

The case officer's report, which was sent to the developer on the 9th of November, drew attention to the fact that the proposed hotel development was also adjacent to the protected cliff area (Special Protection Area) that is home to a number of internationally important seabird species. The report states that the proposed development is not acceptable in terms of EU regulations as it exposes such species to adverse impacts related to light and noise pollution and the protection of these species would therefore be at risk.

In the letter sent to MEPA, the developer also indicated that he would soon reveal his plans for Zone 7, which was left out of the latest development application. This significant part of the Ta' Cenc plateau was originally planned as a golf course by Mr Borg, which had created a lot of controversy in the past as it merits designation as a Special Area of Conservation due to the rich presence of important habitat types.

"The changes Mr Borg is suggesting in his letter to the director of MEPA do not address the majority of concerns raised in the case officer's report. This development proposal is unacceptable in so many ways that, should MEPA accept this development, it will not only violate Maltese legislation but also the main conservation Directives of the European Union. Therefore we urge the Maltese government to fully designate the Ta' Cenc area as a Natura 2000 site which would ensure the full protection that Ta' Cenc deserves," Mr Temuge concluded.