A Family Legacy at Risk
Joe Debono, a 66-one year-vintage farmer, has spent his lifestyles tending to a Għargħur farm that has been in his own family for three generations. This land, cultivated for over a hundred fifty years, now faces the risk of development as plans for a arguable housing undertaking skip beforehand.
My grandfather started leasing this area earlier than passing it without delay to my mom, father, and uncle, Debono shared. Now, it’s me and my brothers who paintings the land.
The farm is domestic to pretty a few flowers, which includes potatoes, onions, large beans, and garlic. For Debono, farming is extra than most effective a livelihood-it is a manner of lifestyles. I come each day at 7 AM, work until eleven AM, go with the flow domestic to consume a few bread, and then come once more, he stated. This is how I spend my lifestyles – not to make a earnings but to grow meals for myself and my family.
Housing Project Threatens Historic Land
A making plans software software submitted through Matthew Navarro of Nava Group proposes demolishing part of the antique farmhouse at the belongings and converting it with 4 townhouses, every presenting swimming swimming swimming pools and basement garages.
The task has already attracted shoppers, with of the townhouses reportedly supplied off-plan. If permitted, this development need to honestly erase a piece of Għargħur’s agricultural and cultural historical beyond.
Cultural Heritage Concerns
The farmhouse at the assets has been flagged through the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage as a internet site of obvious antiquity. The architectural fashion, creation strategies, and ancient records, which encompass the 1902 Ordnance Survey sheet, affirm its longstanding presence. The website online is inside an Urban Conservation Area and in part out of doors the development quarter, raising similarly worries about the impact of the proposed venture.
Community Opposition Grows
During a Planning Authority internet web page on-line visit, Għargħur residents voiced robust opposition to the proposed improvement.
Patrick Calleja, a resident and architect, referred to that locals have confronted strict suggestions even as making minor adjustments to their houses. Now, all of a surprising, there’s an application to construct four homes,” he stated, emphasizing the capability harm to the vicinity’s historic and environmental cost.
Debono fears the forced relocation will strip him of his cause. It seems that in the end, I can be compelled to go away, after which there can be nothing else to do however die slowly at the pjazza, he lamented. If the Lord permits, I want to spend the rest of my life proper here.
What’s Next?
As the debate over the improvement continues, the Planning Authority must weigh the protection of Għargħur’s cultural and agricultural records in competition to town growth. With growing public and professional opposition, the destiny of Debono’s farm stays uncertain.
