The ESG has met with Government to share its concerns and views regarding the proposed multi-storey car park at Grand Parade. It also aired these views at the last DPC meeting.

Regretting the loss of open space and evident increase in traffic a multi storey car park would create in this area the ESG would like to make the following comments: –

1.  it believes the project goes against the spirit of the STTP (Sustainable Traffic and Transport Plan) by increasing the volume of cars, instead of investing in improved public transport, and initiatives which will encourage walking and cycling
2. it believes a review and promotion of a “Park and Ride” initiative is needed to help address the influx of foreign traffic into Gibraltar on a daily basis
3. that, if parking is to be increased at the Grand Parade site, alternatives to the present project be seriously explored: to go underground or investigate the possibility of utilising part of the Government owned Queens Cinema Complex and combine a new theatre with parking
4. while Government has affirmed publicly that retaining Grand Parade as an open area, and potentially even a landscaped park, while ideal, is unaffordable and unrealistic, the ESG urges them to give every possible consideration to retaining the open area for present and future generations and organise essential parking requirements via an alternative plan, while also pressing forward the aims behind the STTP

From conversations we have had with members of the public on this subject, we believe that the ESG opinion resonates with many. We would encourage these citizens to get in touch with us on <esg@gibtelecom.net> so that we can collectively put more emphasis on our concern.

SEE FLICKR PAGE AS IMAGES START FLOODING IN!

GBC Video links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpDSgAOqpcE

https://www.facebook.com/GBCNewsroom/videos/1679851085360564/

See also:

www.yourgibraltartv.com/society/15537-sep-26-clean-up-the-world-event-removes-over-20-truckloads-of-rubbish

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CUTW 2017 – 25^th September 2017

The ESG would like to send out thanks to all involved in the Clean up event on Saturday. Over 20 full truckloads and 30 teams of 400 volunteers helped Clean up Gibraltar. A mountain of waste was once again produced and piled up at the Eco Park.

The action was launched with an energetic Parade supported by schools and a few teams with the Minister for the Environment joining the awareness effort. This concluded at Wellington Front where the ESG now has new premises and a number of activities related to litter and the environment followed.

The clean up saw several areas around Gibraltar stripped free of waste, mainly plastics, although some bulky items were also picked up. The teamwork witnessed in the Clean up is always inspiring with areas transformed, clearly fulfilling, as reports coming in confirm. This year has also seen a number of new teams and individuals sign up. Volunteers were shocked to see levels of littering at some of the hotspots.

A full report on all sites will be produced on the littered areas that have benefited from the voluntary effort this weekend.

Thanks to our sponsors, supporters and especially to the individuals who work tirelessly in the run up to the Clean up to make this large operation happen as smoothly as it does.

“Our new premises, courtesy of the Culture Ministry, improved our logistics too and will undoubtedly help us run many similar programmes from here”, says organiser.

The Campaign will continue to work throughout the year for greater civic pride, better facilities, information and enforcement, to continue to reduce the amount of rubbish we find in our target areas every September. ”

Clean up the World 2017

Parade and Awareness:

Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School, St Anne’s Middle School, Loreto Convent School, Bayside Comprehensive School

Minister for the Environment

Rotary International

Eco Art

ESG

Sunbow Projects Ltd

Royal Gibraltar Police

Sadie Lucas

Daniela Pitto

CUTW Teams:

ESG, Schools: Prior Park, Bishop Fitzgerald, St Anne’s, Bayside, Westside, St Joseph’s, Loreto Convent; Master Services, Environmental Agency, Dept. of Environment Dive and Land team, Alameda Tenants, Clubhouse Gibraltar, PWC, Laguna Youth Club, Plater Youth Club, Cassava, Team of Individuals, MH Bland, Wake up Gibraltar, GJBS, GSD, Nautilus Project, Gibraltar College, Rotary International, Ofs &Youfra, GibSubAqua, Atlas Recycling, GSLTC, Maroc 4 x 4

Trucks:

Wildlife Gibraltar, Toyota Gibraltar, Master Services, Eco Park –special thanks to Tom Scott, Jim Howitt, Andrew Abrines, David and his team at Eco Park

Support also from Department of Environment, Environmental Agency

Standby support from Gibraltar Community Support Services

Props and equipment preparation Team:

Karen Everett, Norah Brown, Ania Maza (Eco Art), Grey, Ania and Stan (Sunbow Projects Ltd), Tim Howitt, Eddie Lucas, Jenny Brown

Sponsors, Equipment and Support:

Open Day Trust, Interbuild, Master Services, Ministry for the Environment, 101 Ltd, Morrison’s Gibraltar, AquaGib, Gibtelecom, Hammonds, Ministry of Culture, Royal Gibraltar Police, Land Property Services, Eco Park and the Gibraltar community

Thursday 21st saw ESG broadcast news of the upcoming Clean up via our airwaves thanks to Radio Gibraltar.

Reminders were given to team leaders about final plans and equipment collection as well as news of our Awareness Parade that will launch the event on Saturday.

We call upon the community to support the Parade that aims to bring to the heart of Gibraltar news of our volunteers working hard to remove dangerous litter from our natural environments.

Thanks to them, to our supporters and sponsors for making this big day HAPPEN!!

2017 CLEAN UP THE WORLD IS HERE AGAIN!

Organisers of Clean up the World in Gibraltar are pleased to confirm that all plans are now in place for Saturday’s Gibraltar-wide clean-up.

26 Teams will be tackling 24 sites in out of the way, green and marine environments.

In its 13^th year running in Gibraltar, the ESG has coordinated this event as part of the inspiring global campaign since 2005. For some years now the theme has been: “Our Place, Our Planet, Our Responsibility”, encouraging personal and community action, displaying civic pride and supporting the agenda for environmental progress in various parts of the world. Gibraltar has also seen this agenda move over the years and we are in a very different place today to where we were when we first began.

Specifically to litter and fly tipping we have seen various old dumps and green areas, saturated with waste, cleared through the extraordinary efforts of volunteers and subsequent follow up and response by authorities.

Areas like Seven Sisters, a hidden jewel located “somewhere behind the dockyard” has seen real hard graft with skip after skip of waste lifted from the enclave by our volunteers with assistance from local agencies and GibDock. It is now a protected site. The Upper Rock has also seen major projects carried out in previous Clean ups in severely degraded hotspots.

More broadly, the campaign pursues a number of objectives to address underlying causes of litter in our community and for the need of better maintenance of our regular sites. Education, Facilities and Enforcement is our focus with the need for a Roving Unit for hotspots on our agenda and for contractors to take greater care when carrying out works and disposing of old or unused materials. After every major clean up fresh reports are submitted to the authorities.

The Campaign has already seen the ESG hold a number of planning meetings engaging the community as well as giving talks at schools. It is an important civic campaign that pulls the community together demonstrating a real love and pride in our natural environment and homeland.

The clean up will be launched by a vibrant Parade departing from Casemates at 11am on Saturday the 23^rd September and finishing up at Wellington Front. Some teams will already be out and about tackling various sites around Gibraltar.

The ESG would like to thank its sponsors and supporters in getting the campaign ready to go this year as well as the many volunteers who have signed up once again. It also commends the voluntary efforts being made by individuals, groups and organisations who, year round, are giving their time to look after our natural or historic heritage and hopes this attitude will continue to thrive in our community.

Visit reports and images from past clean ups – click on flickr on our home page

ESG Press Release on La Junta and Fuel Farm Pollution

1^st September 2017

“ESG wishes to comment on recent news in the Spanish press that La Junta is investigating possible solutions to mitigate the unacceptable fumes produced this summer in the Algeciras Port where a major fuel farm facility is located.

It beggars belief that such a major fuel installation did not appear to apply best practice and best available technology when setting this up in full view of all authority and legislators. Not only was major land reclamation undertaken with further loss of marine habitat, but major expansion of dirty fuel activity also, when existing petrochemical works in the Campo area have caused such wide spread impact on citizens and on the living environment in the Bay for several decades.

Projects such as these are cross border in nature by virtue of scale and type of activity and in 2013, when this fuel farm was announced, we called for action from the Commission, initially to oppose it, and also to ensure that cross border, environmental protocols were followed by the company concerned. Nothing happened.

It is clear that polluting impacts from this fuel facility is such that La Junta is being forced to act. Pity it did not seek highest technology and standards when licensing the plant in the first place.

Companies must not cut corners when dealing in these industrial practices that commonly degrade and impact on the environment and La Junta must tighten up its act on this and on all Campo industry.

The group further notes and regrets that environmental groups, often the first to raise alarms on polluting incidences, are not included in the forum by La Junta to assist in its investigation.”

ESG Radio Newsletter 17^th August 2017

Hi. Today we would like to focus on the upcoming Clean up the World, taking place in Gibraltar on the 23rd September. This will be the 13^th annual event we have organised though there have been many many more spot cleans ups done by volunteers over the years also. You will be able to download a Clean up 2017 poster from our website shortly, details will follow.

This campaign has helped push a number of our objectives on encouraging civic pride – as can be seen by other voluntary efforts on litter, such as the Nautilus Project and others– on improving facilities and enforcement – though its clear that more needs to be done at every level. Obviously we need to be cleaner too and that would prevent a lot of other problems from needing ever more management – be it waste dumping to dog urine, to just day to day careless littering which collectively all adds up to a big problem.

It is a welcome sight to see the new Marine Litter signs at the beaches produced by the Dept. of Environment. They powerfully convey the impacts that careless littering has on bird and marine life and will hopefully encourage more people to be extra careful with their rubbish.

This Tuesday 22^nd August at 7pm we are calling upon registered team leaders for the 2017 clean up to attend the first planning meeting at ESG premises on No. 12, Wellington Front. A briefing on on-going issues and campaign successes and continued targets will be discussed as well as looking at hotspots and beginning the task of matching teams to sites. We will be contacting team leaders directly also. A second and final planning meeting will be announced for early September.

Although we were unable to run our energetic and impacting Parade last year we intend to launch this years action with a vibrant display of civic pride in the heart of town showing our community that issues of litter/waste/and our environment matters very much locally too. We expect Schools and CUTW teams to take part in the parade also supported by parents and this time we shall weave our way to our new premises where we will hold a brief event on these issues.

Please get in touch if you would like to help out in any way or register to clean up a site. Call us on 200-48996 or Mob 54960000, email at esg@gibtelecom.net .

We would like to issue a reminder that the Development and Planning Commission will be meeting on the 30^th August and while the agenda hasn’t yet been published its likely there will be a number of interesting projects being evaluated. Sessions take place at the John Mackintosh Hall as from 9.30am. You can look at all current applications online at:- egov.gi – go to Town Planning – and then applications.

The ESG has recently issued press releases on south district air pollution which peaked toward end July early August and on recent plans announced by Government regarding doubling parking capacity at the Grand Parade. The group is following up on all these issues with Government.

You can find out more about our aims and objectives by visiting the ESG website at: ww.esg-gib.net. Our 2017 update will be online shortly. It is a summary and we invite those interested to contact us for any more information on any particular issue. Thanks for listening.

The ESG is seeking a mtg with Minister Balban to discuss the ongoing implementation of the STTP (Sustainable Traffic and Transport Plan) and raise particular concerns.

In the meantime, and after Government’s announcement about its plans for an expansion on parking at Grand Parade, the group will also be making representations to Government with our views.

While clear that additional parking services are required to be made available in the south district – given the various user groups – the ESG is nevertheless very unhappy about the current proposition. Even though it is used as a car park at present, it is still possible to appreciate the open, sweeping nature of Grand Parade enhancing the entrance to the Botanic Gardens and Nature Reserve beyond.

The ESG will therefore make its views and ideas for alternatives known to Government in the hope that these can be considered.

ESG PRESS RELEASE ON AIR POLLUTION

3rd August 2017

Recent south district air pollution levels have been causing concern among residents. Aside from impacts from background shipping, bunkering and temporarily sited skid generators, two factors could well have exacerbated conditions during the hot and close weather towards the end of July. Strong smells of gas, apparently emanating from across the bay, affected a large section of the south of Gibraltar on the afternoon of the 25^th July, and although short-lasting, caused significant concerns. It is hoped that the Gibraltar Government is following up on what could be a transboundary pollution incident of significant effect. The second was a particularly intensive vessel overhaul recently undertaken at the dockyard.

The ESG came across an online shipping report on the recent completion of a 12-day programme of works on MN Tangara carried out by GibDock, ending in the last week of July. Works were indeed extensive and included multiple tasks carried out in parallel with each other. Among these was painting of a surface area of 12,300m2 (including hull, superstructure, funnel, crane, etc.), pipe and propulsion works, in-situ bonding of stern tube seals, ventilation works, electrical and more besides. This suggests that various industrial processes and materials were used that would have, combined, produced intense, fumes of all types. Such fumes spread rapidly in hot weather and it is no wonder people have felt the full impact as reports indicate.

Despite the nausea and distress caused when particularly heavy fumes enter homes, the air monitoring stations are still recording legal limits on certain pollutants (as not all stations measure all pollutants). This demonstrates once again how Gibraltar should be raising EU safety thresholds due to the proximity of polluting activity to housing. It is noted that the VOC benzene analyser has been out of action for some time, which needs replacing, especially as large paint contracts are being carried out.

It is disheartening to note that, despite efforts to address south district pollution via the re-introduction of onshore power connection at the Dockyard, increased monitoring of the site by agencies, and the mothballing of two very polluting power stations, that residents continue to be affected in 2017. It calls for more scrutiny over the nature of works that can be carried out as well as the time of year these can be done in. The placing of hundreds of people right alongside the dockyard has undoubtedly created a difficult and unsustainable situation, which needs to be looked at very carefully. 2017 has been an especially busy year for the dockyard with multiple vessels in for service at any one time. It could be useful for an on call telephone number to be provided by the company so that residents can report issues of excessive noise and air pollution as they are happening. GibDocks recent ISO environmental accreditation should encourage fence line monitoring and community feedback.

The ESG is also aware of the impacts from pollution in the NW district especially during these hot months and continues to lobby for real-time monitoring to be set up in this zone.

See link for shipping report referred to in the Press release:

http://www.motorship.com/news101/shiprepair-and-conversion/gibdock-con-ro-repair-job

ESG Radio Newsletter 27^th July 2017

Hi there-

–This week we look at important Clean up the World Dates/Pollution in our midst and ask how clean in fact are our beaches? Pens at the ready – this years Clean Up will take place on the 23^rd September. As usual we will tackle year round hotspots that tend to be in natural spaces – examples include green slopes and coastal areas. Since 2005 our volunteers have placed great energy and effort into cleaning up Gibraltar with many age-old dumps and fly tipping sites eradicated. A visit to the ESG premises – that is presently being fixed up at Wellington Front – will soon enable the visitor to see exhibits and watch films outlining the remarkable projects undertaken under the clean up banner by citizens, businesses, services and NGOs- all pulling together for a cleaner Gibraltar over the years. Fantastic! A formal launch of our premises will coincide with the Clean up itself.

–We are currently developing workshops and planning meetings so email us at esg@gibtelecom.net if you are interested to take part. Planning mtg will take place on the 22^nd August.

-The recent announcement and approval by the DPC of the construction of a Waste Management Plant by the Eco Park Team to sort and prepare Gibraltar’s waste locally, is strongly welcomed by the ESG. This aim, to maximise recycling potential of our waste, over any form of incineration, is positive news indeed. We shall be following the development of this project with interest, as it will be a challenging and revolutionary step for Gibraltar to become self-sufficient while moving recyclable waste to various destinations for the greenest possible waste solutions.

–At the start of this newsletter we asked how clean were Gibraltar’s beaches? We ask this because it is well known that despite the clean conditions at beaches at the start of the day in the height of summer, that litter will slowly build up, at times, unacceptably, highlighting the need to change attitudes in those who persist in dumping rubbish – this can be anything from cigarette butts, to the infernal pippita shells, to cans, bottles, and plastic bags; these discarded at the end of the day after holding down umbrellas.

–It is unacceptable that as a community we continue to treat our precious beaches in such a careless and thoughtless manner. Much of this waste will end up in the sea contaminating that ecosystem and potentially harming all that live within it. For the rest it can only degrade the area that people will no doubt re-visit and want to use safely and cleanly on another occasion. Why then not think about the consequences of just dumping where one is sitting? Use containers to hold your rubbish until the end of the day. Then, dispose of this at the appropriate bins provided for this purpose. If this is full – take your rubbish with you. Respect for the environment should be uppermost on all our minds and not just the younger generation who are encouraged to think like this at school. We also must set examples to younger generations..

–It is not only the sandy beaches that are adversely affected. Visit Camp or Little Bay evening or early morning, before the cleaners have been through, and witness the way overnight revellers and some beach users have left the areas. This affects both people and the environment!! Bins are provided so do the right thing, be responsible, and show civic pride – think before you dump!!

–You may have spotted new recycling bins on our beaches – there will be an information campaign happening next week to encourage their use and help beach goers also recycle their waste. Information is welcomed.

–There is now a new Feedback contact where you can report environmental issues of a littering or vandalised nature. That is at:   env.feedback@gibraltar.gov.gi  or telephone at: Tel: 200-65964

–Moving on to pollution – it is no secret that summer months bring with them the unwelcome spectre of heavy and often intolerable smells and pollution in our local airspace. The ESG takes up these issues with Govt on a regular basis and was relieved to note that onshore power connection and conversion at the Dockyard site and at the Port was happening. This means that vessels in for service will be able to plug into local power supply and shut their engines down thus eliminating funnel emissions. We do not yet know if these are in place and are seeking this information from Government. Paint overspray and offshore bunkering will still have their negative impacts and these should be quantified by efficient and mobile real-time monitoring equipment to assure public safety. We continue to lobby for this.

– Traffic pollution is also especially felt in this season with buses, coaches and diesel cars in particular needing to minimise idling with much greater rigour. Regular traffic should also follow a stricter code of behaviour on idling given the proximity of most of our roads to people and housing. The ESG is also lobbying both Ministers for the Environment and for Transport on these issues.

– A brief summary of our latest List of Objectives is published online at esg-gib.net. Here you will find all areas of concern to the ESG, our understanding of the issues and what we believe needs to be done. Hope this proves useful to you. Get in touch if you want more information.

Thanks for listening!

ESG PRESS RELEASE

RE WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANT APPLICATION

16^TH JUNE 2017

The ESG highlights a current application on the online planning website for the setting up of a Waste Management Plant at the ex-incinerator site that will serve to receive, separate and prepare for onward recycling, of mixed domestic waste that currently arrives at the “Waste Transfer Site”, Pit or Quarry as it is also commonly known. Most of this waste is presently sent to Los Barrios for crude separation and baling, as well as landfill.

In recent times however, there have already been dynamic changes in waste handling with the emergence of the Eco Park at Flint Road handling evermore streams and volumes of waste for recycling.

It is clear that a larger and purpose built facility is required to further develop recycling capacity in Gibraltar and this new application outlines the approach towards doing just that. Coupled with uncertainly of border fluidity due to Brexit the plan to manage our waste responsibly on an in-house basis is a positive and progressive step that we have called for, for some years now.

The ESG adds that it strongly welcomes this move towards greater recycling, organic composting, and overall in-house management of waste in a purpose built enclosed facility. These tick all the boxes for the group – for maximum recycling over any form of incineration – who are delighted to see this direction taken by Government and principally the Ministry for the Environment.

It also hopes the project takes off soon and will be following this closely.”

Search for F/14952/17  on egov.gi planning applications website.

Application heading

F/14952/17 | CLEARING, ENABLING AND INSTALLING A WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANT COMPLETE WITH SUPPORT ACCOMMODATION TO COMPLEMENT AND ENHANCE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EXISTING ECOPARK AT FLINT ROAD, DEVILS TOWER ROAD, GIBRALTAR | EX INCINERATOR SITE, EUROPA ADVANCE ROAD