“This is shameful and sad,” she said on Facebook. “The Naxxar council asked for a tiny, tiny bit of land, more than 500 times smaller than Miżieb and l-Aħrax [woodlands which were recently handed over to the national hunting federation], but the government rejected our request.”

“This land was slapped with a number of enforcement notices after it was converted into a scrapyard and we wanted to convert it into a peaceful garden where the public can relax.”

“It would also have seen our historic windmill, which we are spending hundreds of thousands of euro to restore, surrounded by a peaceful zone which everyone could enjoy.”

“When the existing contract had over three months to run, the council asked the government to pass it over, but it didn’t respond to our request and instead renewed its contract with a private company for the next 16 years. What a shame!”

She said the council has since applied for a four-metre buffer zone around the windmill, which would incorporate a lift for visitors to the historic site, but has yet to receive a response.

A spokesperson for the Lands Authority told Lovin Malta that the Naxxar local council’s request for information came after the Authority’s Board approved the tenant’s request for lease renewal of the land in question.

“The tenant, by law, had the right of first refusal.  The Board of Governors had already approved the tenant’s request for the renewal of the lease according to law, before the Naxxar Local Council submitted their request,” the spokesperson said.

Cover photo: Left: The Tal-Għaqba Windmill Right: An artistic rendition of the council’s proposed garden 

Would you have liked to see this garden built around the Tal-Għaqba Windmill? Let us know what you think in the comment section