Summary
In early 2026, residents in Santa Venera had to be evacuated from their homes after ground movement was detected in the area. The case has become a flashpoint in a wider warning by the Malta Chamber of Geologists that Malta builds without basic geological safeguards - and that the official 2022 geological map for Ħamrun and Santa Venera reclassified the local strata in a way the Chamber's president calls "very dangerous and irresponsible".
Timeline
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8 March 2026 - Geologist sounds alarm. In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Dr Peter Gatt, president of the Malta Chamber of Geologists, points to the active ground movement and resident evacuations at Santa Venera as a case in point. He notes that the Building and Construction Authority continues to ignore geologists and the professional body that represents them, and that the Sofia inquiry's recommendation - that a geologist's report should precede any excavation - has not been acted on. He also flags that the 2022 official geological map reclassified the Ħamrun/Santa Venera strata as Lower Globigerina (a stronger rock), while the 1993 map had recorded the weaker Middle Globigerina in the same area, leaving developers and residents with a misleading picture of the ground they are building on.
Source: Semira Abbas Shalan, "Geologist sounds alarm: 'We are building on unsafe ground'", The Malta Independent on Sunday, 8 March 2026.
If you are a resident with further evidence on planning impact, ground conditions or short-term-let pressure in Santa Venera, please get in touch at residentibeltin@gmail.com.