Watch: ‘Do We Have Any Rights?’ Priest Shares Relentless Construction Works Outside University
A well-known Maltese priest has shared a video on social media showing the relentless and disruptive construction works occurring “all day, every day” just outside the University of Malta gates.
The Jesuit community residence, Dar Manwel Magri, is located opposite the former Mireva bookshop, which has been demolished and is now being replaced by an 11-storey hotel.
Father Patrick Magro posted a short clip showing just a few seconds of what it’s like to live, work, or study in the area. While shouting over the deafening construction noise, he emphasised how harmful this environment is to one’s physical and mental health. Ironic, he pointed out, considering that mental health research papers are being conducted within the university walls.
The priest argued that when animals are “unfortunately mistreated,” the public rightfully takes to social media to fight for animal rights.
“Do we have any rights? Do we have to put up with this all day, every day?” asked the chaplain at the university chapel.
Magro contacted the police, who told him there was nothing they could do, while the Building Construction Authority said they would send an inspector, according to the Times of Malta.
The approval of the hotel application was met with significant resistance from university students. Kunsill Studenti Universitarji held a protest against the 11-storey building in the student housing residential area, which was applied for by Gozitan developer Mark Agius, also known as Ta’ Dirjanu.
Meanwhile, university lecturer Kurt Borg condemned the project by tweaking a section of Immanuel Mifsud’s famous environmental poem and attaching it to the permit.
Agius had applied for permission to add another floor to the site in 2022, despite having already secured an additional two floors over and above the permitted maximum in his original planning application.
Last year, the Planning Authority approved the application with the additional floors.
What should Malta do to solve this issue of rampant construction?
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