The Planning Authority has just approved a zoning request for a new road leading to six new villas, placing Santa Marija estate’s woodland under threat.

The bungalows will be built on more than 6,000 sqm of woodland, one of the last few green spaces left in the area.

The area features a large number of mature trees, and also a supposedly protected watercourse that passes through the surrounding valley.

The board members of the council all voted in favour of the project, ignoring the “ecological importance” that the area has been known for decades.

Having said that, the area has been earmarked as residential development since 2006, making such a project permissible.

The case officer’s report acknowledges that the area is deemed to be “ecologically sensitive” and recommended that the trees are integrated within the development plans so as to avoid uprooting for some.

However, this does not seem possible as such, as the current plans show that the bungalows are set to be located exactly on the woodland.

The road leading to the bungalows is set to occupy a bit over 1,000 sqm of afforested land, and will make the development of the villas possible.