A Decade Later, St Julian’s Valley Gets Full Protection As Area Of Ecological Importance
Over a decade of waiting later, St Julian’s Balluta Valley has finally got confirmation of its retainment of the full protection status as a scheduled area of ecological importance.
This comes following the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal’s (EPRT) confirmation of its scheduling in its entirety.
Over these last 12 years, the area has been subject to major development, namely along a stretch of new apartment blocks along Triq l-Imrabat and St Julian’s hill.
In the request before the EPRT, the appellants had appealed the protection status given to the area bordering the valley floor.
Consequently, the EPRT confirmed that the decision taken by the Planning Authority in November 2011 to protect the overall integrity of the valley through its scheduling and with varying levels of protection including a buffer zone, is to stand.
During the appeals’ proceedings before the EPRT, the Planning Authority stressed that the objective of the scheduling is twofold: to protect Il-Wied tal-Balluta on its own merits as a component of the nation’s natural heritage and to act as a development control mechanism.
The valley bed and parts of the valley- sides support dense maquis vegetation whereas a substantial part of its northern valley-side is characterised by exposed karstic terrain with associated floral assemblages.
The scheduled valley system including its northern valley side, collectively span an area of just over 46,000m2 with a perimeter of approximately 1,200 metres.
Apart from a predominance of carob and olive trees, the valley-bed also supports bay laurels (is siġar tar-rand) whereas the upper valley side, sustains a population of rosemary (il-klin) and the endemic Maltese pyramidal orchids (l-orkida piramidali), amongst other floral species.
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