Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1253597
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2020 Rabat WW2 rooms, land MP wanted to be restored JAMES DEBONO LAND in the Rabat countryside once earmarked for a residence by Nation- alist MP Toni Bezzina, is proposing the restoration of the WWII rooms as living quarters and an observation room. The project, outside development zones in Saqqajja, also proposes the restoration of an existing almond grove. Basement canteens will be ex- cavated beneath the three existing di- lapidated rooms. The roofless rooms were used as liv- ing quarters during WWII. Anthony Micallef, who declared ownership of the 3,000sq.m plot of land where the project is located, presented the ap- plication. In 2017, Nationalist MP Toni Bez- zina was forced to withdraw a plan- ning application filed by his wife for a three-bedroom dwelling, swimming pool, garages and driveway disguised as a "restoration of derelict World War II structures", after being outed by Labour party organ Kullħadd. Since then the property, which in- cludes an almond grove, has changed ownership and Angelo D'Arrigo, a Remax property agent who declared full ownership of the site, presented a new application. The application also foresaw the erection of a new dwell- ing but was subsequently withdrawn. Unlike the present application, which simply seeks the restoration of the military rooms, both applications proposed the integration of all three rooms into a single dwelling. Wied Ghomor hotel application resurrected JAMES DEBONO A bid to turn two dwellings previously approved outside building zones by the Planning Authority, into a fully-fledged guesthouse, has been resurrected. Nine months ago, the previous ap- plication for the Wied Għomor guest- house 'The Valley' was withdrawn by applicant Karl Camilleri following re- ports that it was operating without a planning permit. The latest application again asks to for permission to link the two existing dwellings, and change their use for a guesthouse with 11 rooms and a guest apartment. The latest application re- fers to a licence issued by the Malta Tourism Authority for the two proper- ties to host English-language students. The Valley was already taking book- ings since at least the start of June 2019 on the basis of a compliance certificate issued by the MTA, while the Planning Authority was still assessing an appli- cation to convert the dwellings in to a guest house. The villas are situated off Triq Mikiel Ang Borg, close to Spinola Bay. They were originally recommended for ap- proval, with no mention made of the fact that the guesthouse was accepting bookings without a valid planning per- mit. In September 2019, the PA's planning commission rejected the permit due to illegal use, as well as citing rural policy guidelines that only allow a change-of- use for ODZ buildings if the replace- ment "would result in a wider environ- mental benefit". The application was withdrawn before being referred to a formal decision. The building in Wied Għomor is cov- ered by planning permission for two residential villas and swimming pools, which were approved in place of dilap- idated structures on site by successive permits in 2017 and 2018. As soon as the permits were approved, the owners filed a further application to change the use of the buildings to a 12-room guesthouse. The Environment and Resources Au- thority, which objected to the applica- tion, said it appeared that the previous applications were merely "stepping stones leading to this proposal". The St Julian's and Swieqi local councils also objected to the plans, as did environ- mental groups Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa and Nature Trust.