An unusual barter proposal

Abstract

The shenanigans that development applicants continuously churn out defy credulity sometimes. It seems, in fact, that the higher the odds stacked against them to obtain a planning permit for an ODZ area, the quirkier the shenanigan resorted to by the applicant. For instance, PA 07052/18 is proposing the construction of four residences along Triq il-Bidwi, in an ODZ area in Bidnija, in compensation for the closure of a pig farm in a valley in Żebbuġ (Malta). At face value, the Latin term quid pro quo, which would roughly translate in the pedestrian “tit for tat”, springs to mind, especially since the applicant is proposing the reinstatement of a currently impacted site, including the demolition of a two-storey pig farm and the removal of the underlying cesspits in order to rewind backwards the clock and convert the site back into terraced, arable fields. But upon some thought one realises that what is being proposed is hardly an equitable exchange, besides setting a dangerous precedent for further dubious ODZ land swaps. For instance, the proposed construction of four new residences at the Bidnija site will entail the demolition of a stretch of rubble walls besides the uprooting of mature trees.