Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1283588
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 NEWS Wied Ghomor hotel plans 'objectionable' JAMES DEBONO THE Environment and Resourc- es Authority has warned against the approval of a guesthouse to replace two new dwellings out- side the development zones in Wied Għomor, fearing it will open the floodgates for more development in the valley. A previous application for the Wied Għomor guest- house 'The Valley' was already withdrawn by applicant Karl Camilleri last year, following reports that it was operating without a planning permit. The latest application again asks for permission to link the two existing dwellings, and change their use for a guest- house with 11 rooms and guest apartment. It also refers to a licence issued by the Malta Tourism Authority for the two properties to host English-lan- guage students. But the ERA insists the exist- ing structure is not adequate to accommodate a guesthouse without future changes or ex- tensions, such as "ancillary developments to the pool, the construction of a garage and additional parking area… which would further degrade the underlying valley". The site has already been sub- ject to a number of piecemeal applications, which resulted in additional commitments, and formalisation of the area. "Two previous applications already approved by the PA, were uti- lised as stepping stones lead- ing to this application, despite ERA's concerns." In fact, the building in Wied Għomor is covered by plan- ning permission for two res- idential villas and swimming pools, which were approved in place of two dilapidated struc- tures by successive permits in 2017 and 2018. As soon as the permits were approved, the owners filed a further ap- plication to change the use of the buildings into a 12-room guesthouse. Although the proposal will retain the same footprint of the existing buildings, ERA said the plans were "strongly objectionable" from an envi- ronmental point of view. The villas approved by the PA in 2017 during the elec- toral campaign are situated off Triq Mikiel Ang Borg, close to Spinola Bay. They were orig- inally recommended for ap- proval, with no mention made of the fact that the guesthouse was accepting bookings with- out a valid planning permit. In September 2019, the PA's planning commission was set to reject the permit due to il- legal use, as well as citing ru- ral policy guidelines that only allow a change-of-use for ODZ buildings if the replacement "would result in a wider envi- ronmental benefit". The appli- cation, which had a favourable recommendation by the case officer, was withdrawn before being referred to a formal de- cision. JAMES DEBONO THE Environment and Re- sources Authority has shot down an attempt by Chloe Portelli, daughter of construc- tion magnate Joseph Portelli, to regularize a series of ille- gally-constructed rubble walls in the vicinity of the Kennuna tower in Nadur. Portelli recently applied to construct a 37sq.m "agricultur- al store" in the area, prompting concern that the illegal works, denounced by residents for weeks before the PA finally in- tervened to stop the works after their completion, were aimed at laying the ground for even more development. Chloe Portelli – a registered farmer – is actually the hospi- tality manager for the Portelli Group's hotel chain and is di- rectly responsible for the oper- ations and project management of these properties. The site of the rubble walls is a continuous stretch of open terraced land known as 'il-Ge- bel l-Ahmar' on the southern countryside of Nadur, facing the village of Ghajnsielem, and is highly visible from various surrounding areas. The Gozo and Comino Local plan shows the area designated as an Area of High Landscape Sensitivity. The site is currently subject to an active enforcement notice against the construction of rub- ble walls without permit. "In the light of environmentally-incon- siderate works already observed so far, there are significant con- cerns relating to defacement of the affected rural landscape," the ERA warned. Both the construction of the illegal walls and the proposed development of an agricultural store raised "significant envi- ronmental concerns", the ERA said, as these would result in "visual intrusion" and a "sig- nificant cumulative impact" on the surrounding rural environ- ment. The ERA said that if approved the development will end up "breaking a presently undis- turbed skyline" and create a precedent for similar chang- es in the surrounding lands. It insisted that any interventions should have be limited to "sur- gical repairs to limited stretch- es of rubble wall that are in bad shape". The rubble walls and pro- posed store are located on a 22,603sq.m plot of agricultural land. The PA's advisory com- mittee on agricultural issues has already objected to the ag- ricultural store, noting that al- though Portelli is registered as a farmer, one-third of the hold- ings are registered as non-ara- ble and therefore the applicant is not in possession of sufficient landholding to justify such a large store. Neither has the ap- plicant submitted proof of ara- ble farming. Plots under 22,000sq.m are only entitled to 20sq.m stores while those over that threshold are entitled to a 40sq.m store. Moreover, no justification has been provided for the size of the proposed room. The committee has recommended relocating the proposal closer to the road so as to minimize soil uptake. ERA shoots down Portelli's attempt to regularise Nadur walls If approved the development will end up "breaking a presently undisturbed skyline" and create a precedent for similar changes in the surrounding lands The ERA insists the existing structure is not adequate to accommodate a guesthouse without future changes or extensions, such as "ancillary developments to the pool, the construction of a garage and additional parking area… which would further degrade the underlying valley."