Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1165935
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 JAMES DEBONO DEVELOPER Charles Poli- dano has presented a zoning application with a bid to build residential units on 3,583sq.m of Zabbar farmland, part of a larger plot added to develop- ment boundaries in the infa- mous extension of 2006. The site along Triq ix- Xghajra and Triq Agatha, was included in development boundaries despite not con- forming to criteria established by the Cabinet to add only sites surrounded by develop- ment on two or three sides. In fact the U-shaped site is only surrounded by existing development on one side. The site was proposed for inclusion in the development zone by the Planning Author- ity's board, then chaired by Andrew Calleja. In 2006, the site and adjacent land was proposed by Poli- dano for the development of a Lidl supermarket, but the case officer had recommended its refusal in 2010. The recom- mended refusal came in the wake of a storm of disapproval after the approval of ODZ su- permarkets by the same con- struction magnate in Safi and Luqa. The Zabbar application, as presented, lacks any details on building heights and what kind of residential units will be proposed on site. JAMES DEBONO A gigantic pier to be installed by the Gozo Ministry on the Blue Lagoon foreshore has been blasted as a threat to the iconic landscape of the Comi- no bay by two heritage watch- dogs. The Planning Author- ity's cultural heritage advisory committee said the proposed extension of the mooring plat- forms to a 133-metre long platform "will completely de- stroy the natural foreshore of the picturesque blue Lagoon." The 12-member panel, which is composed of various lumi- naries in the legal, architectur- al and the artistic spheres and chaired by Joe Magro Conti, also advises the Superintend- ence for Cultural Heritage on planning applications. On its part, the Superintend- ence for Cultural Heritage told the project's architects to remove the extended pier from their plans after noting that this will "inevitably im- pact negatively on views of the area" which it described as an "iconic landscape". The Environment and Re- sources Authority has also reiterated its objections to the plan, requesting that the proposal is redesigned with a more minimalistic approach which retains a more natural character. The Gozo Ministry had sub- mitted the application for the construction of a 660sq.m pier and the reconstruction of 915sq.m of an existing road leading to the same pier, a year ago. The new infrastructure will be constructed in the pano- ramic rocky area between Comino and the Kemmunet islet outside the swimming zone. The plans are designed by Doric Studio, the same com- pany entrusted with preparing a masterplan for Comino. Plans show that the new pier will consist of steel deck beams erected on supporting pillars, which indicates that the infra- structure will be of a perma- nent nature. As a Natura 2000 site, Com- ino is subject to a manage- ment plan published in 2015. The plan calls for the urgent implementation of a carrying capacity assessment for the Blue Lagoon, including sea- sonal variability of numbers of tourists, landings of tourists by ferries, entrance fee options, zoning and patrolling. It also lays down that tourism at the Blue Lagoon and else- where should be "practised in harmony with the site's con- servation needs". The local plan approved in 2006 had earmarked San Niklaw and the Blue Lagoon bay areas as a possible site for a "destination port". In 2010, the PA approved an application by Transport Malta to erect a small demountable jetty at the Blue Lagoon on the footprint of the dilapidated part of an existing quay. Back in 2006 the PA had al- ready refused a fixed perma- nent structure in the same lo- cation because of its visual and ecological impact. It said "fur- ther human intervention, par- ticularly in the form proposed, is not desirable", and that the proposal would hinder its pro- tection and run counter to the rural conservation and ecolog- ical objectives of the Structure Plan. NEWS Comino pier will destroy iconic Blue Lagoon, watchdogs warn Polidano eyes Zabbar fields added in 2006 The 133-metre long platform "will completely destroy the natural foreshore of the picturesque blue Lagoon", two heritage watchdogs have told the PA