No to development at Rosia Bay

Issued 8th September 2021
 

The ESG, GONHS and GHT are vehemently opposed to a development that is being proposed at Rosia Bay.  

The site is hugely important to Gibraltar as a community, leisure, heritage and ecological area, not to mention its international significance to European naval history.

The scheme proposes residential development of up to 75 residential units, despite the site being designated as a tourism, leisure, and recreational area only by the Gibraltar Development Plan 2009.  Furthermore, in 2016 the DPC unanimously rejected a proposed residential development at Rosia Bay that included only six apartments. The GSLP/Liberal party election manifesto in 2019 included plans for the restoration of the Bay and the provision of a recreational facility which is more in line with preserving the value and setting of this special place.

The Scoping Report for the EIA process for the proposal was today passed at the DPC.  Significantly, no imagery or plans have been submitted to date to inform the scoping report.

Aside from the residential units, the proposal also includes commercial units, onsite residential and commercial parking facilities, the extension of the current concrete platform and coastline westwards by about 12m which will include costal protection works and a crown wall of approximately 3-4m in height.

Privatisation of any part of the Bay is unacceptable.  Marring of the heritage value of structures at or around the site is unacceptable.  Our view is that any development that includes a residential element or significant massing at the site should not be entertained from the outset, and we cannot comprehend why a project that includes residential development is being considered.

We are confident that the public will join us in urging that development at Rosia Bay focuses solely on restoring the heritage asset and providing public amenity.  The site deserves it, and so do Gibraltar’s people.