Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1327039
NEWS 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JANUARY 2021 CAREER OPPORTUNITY • Vacancy for Head of IT (JobsPlus permit 2/2021) The Malta Development Bank (MDB) is a promotional bank set up by the Government of Malta in 2017 in terms of the Malta Development Bank Act, 2017 (CAP.574). The aim of the MDB is to complement commercial banks so as to bridge financial gaps in bankable investments, thereby supporting socio-economic development in Malta, with special focus on SMEs, inf rastructure, innovation, digitalisation, education, and other socially-oriented projects. The MDB is currently recruiting and invites applications f rom suitably qualified candidates with banking experience who are citizens of European Union Member States for the following vacancy: This post offers an excellent career opportunity and carries a very attractive remuneration package commensurate with qualifications and experience. A full job description of this post is available on the MDB's website: mdb.org.mt. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the MDB on careers@mdb.org.mt or on +356 2226 1700. Applications together with curriculum vitae and a copy of qualification certificates are to be submitted by 1st February 2021 addressed to: The Chief Executive Officer, Malta Development Bank, Pope Pius V Street, Valletta VLT 1041 or via email on careers@mdb.org.mt JAMES DEBONO A five-storey Xghajra develop- ment will uproot trees and rub- ble walls on land proposed for inclusion in the development boundaries during the 2013 revi- sion of local plans. The Triq Wied Glavan corner site was requested for inclusion in the development boundaries first in 2006 by applicant Frank Piscopo. But the land was not included in the 2006 extension of development zones. The site was proposed again for inclusion in a 2013 revision, which has now been aborted. The PA had received 5,500 submissions in its public con- sultation on the revision of lo- cal plans. Piscopo is not the sole owner of the land in question but cites the consent of the owners for the latest application. The fact that the site is still ODZ means that technically, the applica- tion cannot be approved. The proposal – a residential block of 14 maisonettes, 42 apartments and five penthous- es – was made in an outline permission application, the preliminary procedure that sets the parameters of development and which can be approved at a later stage. But no application has been submitted to change the zoning of the area. In the past the PA made it clear it would refuse any plan- ning control applications for ODZ sites to be included in development zones, and a number of such applications presented in the past five years have been rejected. Currently, only three types of ODZ developments can be proposed, namely existing farm buildings, dwellings proposed in rural hamlets, and devel- opments at the edge of devel- opment zones which ease the transition from countryside. Xghajra is already faced with another major application for a 15-storey high-rise over- looking Wied Glavan and the sea in the vicinity of Piscopo's application. The three-tower, 152-block application is located on farmland within the devel- opment zone. It was presented by Jason Mifsud, a shareholder in the Fanu Mifsud company of Mqabba, as well as Univest En- terprises and Four Site Oper- ations. Both the Xghajra local council and Smart City Ltd had objected to the development. After high-rise, Xghajra land earmarked for five-storey ODZ project Xghajra is already faced with another major application for a 15-storey high-rise overlooking Wied Glavan and the sea in the vicinity of Piscopo's application. The three-tower, 152-block application is located on farmland within the development zone Over 7,000 Britons apply for special residence status KURT SANSONE IDENTITY Malta received 7,470 applications from British citizens for special residency status by the end of last year, the Citizenship Parliamentary Secretariat said. British citizens have until the end of June to apply for the special 10-year residency sta- tus afforded by Malta following the UK's exit from the EU. "Following Brexit day, Identi- ty Malta immediately reached out to all potential UK benefi- ciaries in Malta through direct mail and an informative cam- paign and started accepting new residency applications as early as February 2020, mak- ing Malta amongst the first EU countries to start accepting such applications," the secre- tariat said. The UK formally left the EU on 1 February 2020 and had until December to reach a trade deal with the bloc. The trade agreement was finally penned in the dying days of 2020 but there is still a lot of uncertainty on how it will affect commerce between the EU and Britain. The British form one of the largest foreign communities in Malta, partly because of the historic links between the two island nations. The number of British na- tionals with special residential status is expected to grow fur- ther in the coming months.