Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1078260
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO A total of 497 submissions have been made in Gozo alone, seek- ing permission to extend the development zones on parcels of land kept outside the bound- aries. The submissions propose the addition of new land to the de- velopment zones, ranging from minor adjustments on the 2006 extension of building zones, to extravagant residential and touristic projects on pristine lands. The proposals were made in 2013, after the new Labour gov- ernment started a revision of the local plans last approved in 2006 – the year that develop- ment zones were extended by the Nationalist government. A public consultation exercise was held to propose revisions. A MaltaToday analysis of the Gozo submissions – tabled by planning minister Ian Borg in reply to a parliamentary ques- tion by Nationalist MP Chris Said – offers an indication of the massive pressure from hun- dreds of requests, on govern- ment to extend development zones. They include proposals to extend rural hamlets where residential development is al- lowed within certain limits – 51 demands were made to relax building heights, 13 of which inside seaside town Xlendi; while 18 were made to remove properties from urban conser- vation areas, where heights are limited. Major projects that would lie outside development zones at present include a "natural ex- tension to Nadur" – namely, a low-rise tourist development set on 30,000sq.m of land in- corporating the Kenuna tower, proposed by Ray Fenech on be- half of Tumas Group. The area beneath the Kenuna tower was recently chosen as one of the entrances for the tunnel con- necting Malta and Gozo. In Qala, a luxury retirement complex was proposed by Paul Scicluna on the road to Hon- doq ir-Rummien, on an area of approximately 18.8 tumoli (2.11ha). The site enjoys pano- ramic views towards the south- east beyond Hondoq, across the strait and onto Comino. Two major residential devel- opments are being proposed in Marsalforn – not least a tour- ism complex in the pristine Qbajjar by the salt pens. An- other project in Qbajjar fore- sees "up-market, fully detached, two-storey villas" on 18 plots of land off Triq is-Salini. Karkanja owner Euchar Vel- la, who did not propose any particular site in the area, had proposed a masterplan for the Xwejni coast. Another proposal involves accommodation facili- ties in Xwejni to cater for diving tourism. An extension has also been proposed for the Calypso hotel in Marsalforn. The Xwejni coastline has long been identified for tourism de- velopment. Back in the 1960s the Corinthia group had identi- fied Xwejni for a hotel but the project fell through after the government refused to subsi- dise the project. The owners of the Grotta dis- cotheque off Xlendi, which was partly developed illegally, have also proposed an outdoor en- tertainment area opposite the popular discotheque. Other proposals include the extension of the Cornocopia hotel on ODZ land in Xaghra. A caravan and camping site was proposed in Tal-Qsajjam in Xlendi. Another camping and caravan site was proposed by Karkanja Ltd in Tal-Kriwis in Ghasri. Other proposals include the designation of land at Ta' Sanap in Munxar for a fireworks fac- tory, and allocating land for a petrol station between Victoria, Nadur and Xaghra. Owners of small plots, some Gozitans file 500 requests to extend building boundaries Demands for development zone extension Total submissions Fontana 10 14 Ghajnsielem 42 71 Gharb 32 58 Ghasri 32 44 Kercem 37 50 Munxar 34 60 Nadur 41 81 Qala 27 37 Rabat 45 100 Sannat 16 33 San Lawrenz 30 45 Xaghra 74 124 Xewkija 33 63 Zebbug 44 78 Total 497 858 The PA received 858 submissions from Gozo during a consultation on new local plans carried out in 2013. Of these, 497 included proposals to extend development zones