Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1065920
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 DECEMBER 2018 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE latest nine-storey develop- ment proposed on the grounds of the former Trade Fair's car park in Naxxar is likely to gen- erate 2,635 daily car trips to and from the new development which will also include a super- market. This emerges from a study carried out by planning con- sultants ADI which calculates the Annual Average Daily Traf- fic (AADT), which is the total traffic that passes along a road throughout a year, divided by 365 days. Traffic is expected to peak at 3,129 car trips on Saturdays and at 2,891 car trips on week- days. On Sundays less traffic is expected to be generated with the number of car trips falling to 861. In view of the traffic generated by the new project the Environ- ment and Resources Authority has called for air quality and noise studies. Plans submitted by the devel- opers foresee a 113-apartment block built over nine floors on the site of the car park. The ap- plication foresees the excava- tion of a three-level basement car park that will include a 1,400sq.m supermarket. Offices are also being pro- posed on the first floor of the development, while shops are proposed along a new central square. The development is be- ing proposed by SPTT Proper- ties Limited, a company formed this year by various commercial groups. They include Dutch business group Wygron Beheer, Malta property group Belair, hotelier Ian Decesare's Sonnet Inv, Ab Initio Limited, JND properties, L.A. Developments, J&J Hold- ings, IN Space, as well as other independent property owners and also legal consultants. The same area had once been identified for a 73-apartment block and 29 maisonettes back in 2004 by the company Fairs & Exhibitions Ltd. The development was never approved. The local plan approved in the year 2006 states that the area can be developed as housing units. In 2017 the PA approved development parameters for the site setting a building height limitation of 17.5m: this suggests that in the latest ap- plication the applicant is re- sorting to the Floor Area Ratio mechanism which allows the developer to surpass the height limitation envisaged in the local plan in return for creating more open spaces. The rest of the trade fair grounds, partly owned by Sci- cluna's Estates, is being ear- marked for a 500-apartment and office complex in several apartment blocks ranging from two-storey housing to eight- story towers. Residents have opposed this project arguing that this will aggravate traffic problems and ruin one of the few open spaces in the locality. Naxxar development will create 2,635 new car trips JAMES DEBONO THE Attard local council and the Environment and Resources Authority are opposing a two- storey cafeteria adjacent to the Pit Stop fuel station in Attard, that would abut on the bound- ary of the mental health hospital Mount Carmel. The development, proposed by the owners of the petrol station, would be set on a 220sq.m foot- print that includes a 110sq.m outdoor area and parking facili- ties on a 1,500sq.m piece of land. The Attard council described the café as an "unjustifiable sprawl into existing ODZ [out- side development zones]" that would further impinge on the rural character of the area. It al- so warned that the proposal will increase air and noise pollution in the area. The ERA said the proposal was one of "significant environmen- tal concern" and added that it would protrude beyond the ex- isting permitted footprint into undeveloped ODZ land; com- mitting an additional area of around 1,500sq.m. It objected to the proposed lo- cation of the parking areas with- in an agricultural field which would result in further uptake of rural land and removal of soil from the site. It said the proposal was "in- appropriate" as such commer- cial development should be re- stricted within the development zone. ERA warned that the erection of a cafeteria would cause the loss of rural character of the area and set a pretext for further pressures on the site. The ODZ petrol station was originally approved in 2006 de- spite a clear recommendation of the case officer against its ap- proval. In March 2017, the PA ap- proved an application to con- struct an additional floor over the petrol station's shop to cater for 100sq.m of offices. Original- ly the application also included a restaurant but this was later omitted. The application was approved by the PA's planning commis- sion despite the contrary advice of the case officer, who argued that there was enough space at ground level to cater for the of- fices. Attard council and ERA object to Pit Stop cafeteria The NCFHE is recruiting Executives JobsPlus Permit Number 482/2018 Do you possess initiative? Do you want to assist in the day-to-day administration of a valid organisation? Do you have a good working knowledge of computer literacy? Do you have a good level of education? Can you work on own initiative? If you are interested in being part of our dynamic team please send your CV together with a covering letter to admin.ncfhe@gov.mt The deadline for applications is 5 th January 2019 @ 12:00 hrs. The NCFHE is an equal opportunity employer offering attractive conditions and job security. For further information e-mail admin.ncfhe@gov.mt JAMES DEBONO EXTENSIVE sports facilities over 20,000sq.m of agricultur- al land outside development zones have been proposed for the St Nicholas College Senior School in Dingli. The facilities will cater both for the school and the wider community, a spokesperson for the government's Founda- tion for Tomorrow's Schools confirmed. Students attending this school have access to limited sports facilities consisting of an outdoor sports ground and an indoor space used for phys- ical education lessons. The new school facilities will include a sports hall with an inside court which can be used for various sports disciplines, an indoor swimming pool for waterpolo, two basketball courts, two five-a-side football pitches and a 200m athletics track. The proposed extension also includes offices built over 520sq.m. The environmental impact of the new development will be mitigated by reconstructing random rubble walls and the landscaping of the surround- ing area through the planting of a number of indigenous trees and shrubs. St Nicholas College receives 650 children from the locali- ties across Attard, Mgarr, Ra- bat and Dingli. The school itself had been approved in- stead of an already existing old building and was approved in 2015. Fields around Dingli school earmarked for sports facility