They were once hamlets

Abstract

Hamlets were given greater recognition in the recent reform of the Local Councils Act by, for example, giving them say over the way their local councils allocate their funds. But the location of some hamlets in pristine areas renders them alluring to property developers. As a result they have mushroomed into appendages of their mother villages and towns, one despicable example being Baħrija. Within the list of former hamlets, one finds Manikata, previously only a haunt for farmers, but nowadays a mecca for people with considerable disposable income, judging by the plush properties spouting up. The population of Manikata is these days close to 600. A stone's throw from Manikata, one finds Limbordin, flanking the fertile Pwales valley and dominating the approach to Miżieb. Here again, what was once a backwater with an outlandish name is fast emerging as yet another sizeable outpost of disportionately large properties completely jarring with the rural surroundings.