Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1275149
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 AUGUST 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has approved changes to a contro- versial development which has deleteriously jutted out onto the Balluta Bay, which would contribute to a shortfall of 55 parking spaces in this busy area of St Julian's. The application was the fourth piecemeal application to be pre- sented by Michael Stivala, who is also secretary-general of the Malta Developers Association. The latest changes were ap- proved after Stivala was fined to the tune of €15,531.84 for carrying out most these works illegally before the permit was issued. While the case officer had rec- ommended a €77,65.92 fine, the Planning Commission dou- bled the fine because the illegal works which it later sanctioned, were carried out in a protected area. The latest approval allows an additional floor and other works not authorised by pre- vious permits, but which have already been carried out. This included the sanctioning of of- fices instead of residential units on the top floors, the develop- ment of a restaurant on ground floor and basement levels, a guest house on the first three floors in lieu of approved offices and residential units. In November 2019 the PA had issued Stivala with an enforce- ment order for carrying out the works illegally. Applying a number of parking rates for the different land us- es, the proposed development requires a total of 71 parking spaces. But only 16 spaces are going to be provided, meaning a shortfall of 55 parking spaces. It is estimated that 85 people would be working in the hotel, restaurant and offices. In October 2019 the PA had rejected an increase in office space which was deemed ex- cessive for a residential area, and would have had an adverse impact on the locality due to a shortfall of 63 car parking spac- es, while creating a precedent for similar developments in the area. To remedy the situation the developers have now present- ed a green travel plan which encourages car sharing, the frequent usage of public trans- port, the set-up of organised transportation, walking and cycling are encouraged. The plan foresees that by the fifth year only 10% of those using the premises will travel to it by car, 35% would use an or- ganised transport system 30% would use public transport and 20% would walk on foot. Car parking spaces will be reserved for staff members who travel to the site, utilising the car sharing principle. If the targets and objectives in the Green Travel Plan are not being achieved by the end of four years, the PA may require "a further period of monitoring and review". The PA also re- serves the right to request fur- ther submissions or additional samples, and to impose any further conditions as deemed necessary during the progress of monitoring and review. The development was origi- nally approved as a mix of offic- es and residences. While the facade of the old townhouse facing the St Ju- lian's High Street was retained, an imposing back-end struc- ture located just off the Barra- cuda restaurant has radically changed the appearance of Bal- luta Bay with the building's up- per floors jutting out over the sea itself. Balluta: PA approves 55 parking spaces shortfall Green travel plan to be reviewed by PA after four years after which authority may order more studies and impose new conditions Jail for car-crash insurance fraudster MATTHEW AGIUS THE court of Criminal Appeal confirmed a jail sentence for a man who ran an insurance fraud racket between 2009 and 2013, which intentionally crashed cars for insurance money. In 2018, Josef Grech, now 45, was found guilty on his own admission of defrauding the Untours, United, GasanMamo, Citadel, Atlas, Elmo, Allcare, and Thomas Smith insurance agen- cies out of over €5,000 each, and of filing false police reports. He was found guilty of destroy- ing his own property to claim insurance, breaching a condition of a suspended sentence and re- lapsing. Grech was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Some 22 people were original- ly charged when the police un- ravelled the scam in 2016. It is understood that the insurance firms found that some individu- als had filed accident claims on several vehicles they owned. Peo- ple were also agreeing to be in- volved in "traffic accidents" and would then file separate claims with their own insurance agen- cies. Grech's lawyers, Arthur Azzo- pardi and Alfred Abela, argued in the appeal that the punishment was excessive and should be re- duced. The accused had pleaded guilty at an early stage, cooperat- ed with the police and accepted to compensate the victims for the damages they suffered as a result of his criminal actions. They submitted that the court of first instance had wrongly treated him as a mastermind, whereas in fact he was simply an accomplice. He denied that he was the brains behind the scam and said that he was being made a "sacrificial lamb" for other peo- ple's crimes. But the court of criminal ap- peal took into account that the appellant had been convicted of no less than 21 charges, primari- ly fraud, when the appellant and his accomplices created a mise en scene to defraud insurance companies by creating street ac- cidents and car collisions. The court noted that given the number and nature of the charges against the man, his three-and-a-half-year sentence was close to the minimum which could be imposed. Neither was it the case that a non-custodial sentence could be handed down, said the court. Grech had systematically and repeatedly, over the period be- tween 2009 and 2013, created a danger to road users by staging crashes and claiming insurance. The Court of Criminal Appeal had its hands tied, it said, not only because the court of first instance had used its discretion justly and wisely in awarding punishment, but also in view of the report of the man's proba- tion officer who said that in the particular circumstances of this case, only a custodial sentence would protect the interests of both appellant and his victims. A sentence in the community would not reflect the gravity and value of the crimes he commit- ted, said the court, dismissing the appeal and confirming his original sentence. Lawyer Jason Grima appeared for the Malta Insurance Associa- tion, parte civile in the case.