Former PL MEP Accuses Party Of Censoring Him Through ONE TV Ban
Former PL MEP Cyrus Engerer has accused the party of censoring him after he called for a change in the party’s financing law on the program’s Sunday breakfast show.
“I still stand with what I’ve been saying for a long time: for our environment and health to be protected, what we need is a change in our party financing law,” Engerer said on social media.
“When I said this on ONE TV I was banned from ONE TV by the party a year before the EP elections (apart from the two minutes we used to pay for to appear on Pjazza)”.
Engerer said this as a reaction to the news of the cabinet decision to approve a partial review of the St George’s Bay local plans shared by Times of Malta.
According to the newsroom’s sources, this review could consequentially “multiply” the Villa Rosa project.
“Oh! So local plans can be changed – but only to appease greed and destroy our environment and degrade our health in the same week the Climate Action Authority is launched,” he said.
“In the meantime, Cabinet Members are against it but afraid to take a stand because they would be punished.”
Earlier this morning, Times of Malta reported that the cabinet decided to formally approve a partial review of the St George’s Bay local plans and insiders said that this could exponentially grow the Villa Rosa project submitted by Anthony Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiż.
It is now in the hands of the Planning Authority to start the process to amend the local plans which currently allow smaller and lower developments.
Camilleri’s plans to develop the site into an amalgamation of low-rise offices, shops and residences was approved in 2018 and he currently has a pending proposal to dramatically upscale the project.
The pending plans seek to develop a 34-storey tower and two 27-storey ones overlooking St George’s Bay and last year, an Environmental Impact Assessment concluded that this mega-development would majorly impact the environment and air quality.
At present, it’s unclear whether this partial review will allow taller buildings or a wider footprint.
According to the newsroom’s sources, this issue was first raised in cabinet two months ago and was dismissed. However, it was presented again and the decision was made to amend local plans and facilitate the project.
Another cabinet member said this review would “multiply” the permitted size of the project and reduce any potential legal challenges.
Meanwhile, another source said this could mean an increase in public squares being incorporated into the project.
However, another member said there was general discomfort among parliament members about the proposed changes.
One of the sites is currently occupied by Palazzo Villa Rosa which was designed by one of the country’s prominent early 20th-century architects, Andrea Vassallo.
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