Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1208901
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 FEBRUARY 2020 JAMES DEBONO ARCHBISHOP Charles Sciclu- na has asked the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal to revoke a permit for an under- ground car park in the Balluta convent grounds, insisting that the permit should be nullified be- cause it lacked the consent of the owners – the Carmelite priory. The permit was approved on the basis of a private agreement signed in 2011 by former Car- melite prior Anthony Cilia, who is the brother of developer John Cilia. Both the new prior and the archbishop contend that this agreement was in breach of the original donation of the land to the Carmelite Order, which precludes the transfer of land to third parties. Apart from legal reasons, the appeal also refers to the inappro- priateness of the development of a car park on the site of a convent built specifically to encourage "meditation". The archbishop, who appealed in his role as administrator of ecclesiastical entities, cited the original contract signed in 1890 through which the land was granted to the Carmelite Order on condition that it is not sold to third parties without the consent of the confraternity 'Verenanda Solidalita della Beata Vergine Del Carmelo della Valletta', which ul- timately falls under his authority. According to Scicluna, the con- dition was intended to ensure that the garden remains a "se- cluded place adapt to the monks' contemplation". With the permit approved, the garden would be "denatured with noise, exhaust and other in- conveniences" which disrupt the environment of a convent. He described the garden as a central part of the life of the monks in- habiting the surrounding mon- astery. "The garden was intended as a representation of heaven and a space where monks can medi- tate and reflect on their spiritual state. The presence of trees and the garden itself represent the love and glory of God…" Scicluna said this space "can- not be replaced by a paved area with some trees dispersed here and there", adding that this rep- resented a radical departure from the way the garden was originally intended. "In this way the greatness of God as the creator is being re- placed by the sacrilegious crea- tion of men." In the appeal the archbishop al- so challenged the legal validity of a private contract signed by the former prior in 2011, in which the Carmelite priory described itself as the "owner" of the site, saying this was in breach of the 1890 contract, which specifies if ceded, the land would return to the confraternity, which falls un- der the Archdiocese. The appeal also attacks the validity of the permit on plan- ning grounds, including policies safeguarding gardens in Urban Conservation Areas, and legal obligations to protect the trees on site, which are more than 50 years old. A separate appeal was present- ed by Carmelite Provincial Fr Jo- seph Saliba and convent prior Fr Charles Mallia, in which they in- sist that they had refused to grant any consent for the application to construct a car park. The Planning Authority has approved an underground car park in the Carmelite convent grounds at Balluta despite an unequivocal objection by the Carmelite Or- der, which owns the site. How the permit was approved without owners' consent The outline permit was ap- proved on the basis of the agree- ment signed by the Order's for- mer prior. Planning Commission chair- person Elizabeth Ellul had asked the case officer to seek legal ad- vice due to the objection present- ed by the site owners. The au- thority's legal office replied that since the applicant had a lease agreement, which contemplated a car park, the applicant did not need "additional consent" from the owner. Despite the legal reply, Ellul still voted against approval but was outvoted by two other board members – Anthony Borg and Claude Mallia. The Carmelite Order is cur- rently suing applicant Joe Cilia to rescind the lease agreement, which foresees commercial development on the convent grounds. It presented a judicial protest asking the PA to stop process- ing the present application. But the PA insisted that it was legally obliged to process the applica- tion on the basis of the original lease agreement. In March 2017, the PA turned NEWS Archbishop lambasts the proposed car park in a monastery garden as 'a sacrilegious creation of men' replacing 'the greatness of God' Archbishop appeals against Balluta car park