Mellieħa (il-Mellieħa) is a large village (pop. 7,221 in Dec 2008) in the northwestern part of Malta. It is a popular tourist destination during the summer months. Mellieħa as a village developed under British colonization after the British encouraged people to settle in the area by giving leases to the population. For two centuries previously, the area was abandoned due to fear from attacks of corsairs and Saracens. Before that, only a few villagers lived in the area. After the British encouraged Maltese to settle in Mellieħa, the village flourished. Nowadays, the village includes a large number of villas.
The locality of Mellieħa has through its sustainable initiatives succeeded in achieving this year's title of excellence. The ingredients of this success have been the involvement of the local community, the dedication and strategic vision of its very active NGOs supported by the Local Council and the locality's own assets which have been exalted without being exploited irreversibly.
