Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1389773
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JULY 2021 10 NEWS Qormi Centerparc wants two-storey DIY centre JAMES DEBONO THE Centerparc shopping com- plex in Qormi, which houses the popular Decathlon retail outlet, is requesting permits for two new storeys for a 5,400sq.m DIY centre. In April 2019 the Planning Au- thority had launched a public consultation on the revision of the local plan, with the declared aim of deleting a condition that the roof of the building below the Qormi Road be allocated for soft landscaping, to allow build- ing heights to 11.4m above the upper road. The original project had been approved on condition that the roof of the building below Qormi Road is allocated for soft landscaping. The latest plans by Center- parc Holdings, a company partly owned by TumInvest, still fore- see an outdoor gym, a green roof and a running track over the new 3458-sq.m roof. The area, which formerly con- sisted of an agricultural field that served as a lung for the highly ur- banised area, was designated for soft landscaping and underlying warehouses in the local plan ap- proved in 2006. In 2013, the area was rezoned again for the devel- opment of an elderly home and landscaped public spaces, and then rezoned once again for re- tail development in 2017. In the new plans, a drive-thru restaurant along with a restau- rant with indoor seating and an outdoor area are also included. The development will increase car trips by 1,377. And while the Environment and Resources Au- thority has exempted the project from an impact assessment, air quality studies taking account of the increase in traffic, are still required. Traffic in the area will also be impacted by another permit for a massive 5-storey office block proposed by Joseph Portelli on a neighbouring site. The applica- tion has still to be published on the Planning Authority website as it is still deemed to be "incom- plete" and therefore public con- sultation on the proposed devel- opment still has to take place. The Centerparc application itself also refers to the develop- ment of a supermarket but plans submitted so far indicate that the area will be allocated for the DIY centre. Works on the first phase of the project had resulted in the discovery of a Roman tomb and several cart ruts. These had to be preserved and incorporated in the development. A histori- cal farmhouse, which had to be restored, was demolished and replaced with a replica described as a "pastiche" by the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage. According to the latest plans the farmhouse will be now be rebuilt on the second level next to the DIY centre and will be used by security personnel. Amended local plan in 2017 increased building by 11.4m ahead of new Centerparc application Tal-Barrani braced for massive shopping mall JAMES DEBONO ONE of Malta's largest shopping malls could take up the area of over two foot- ball pitches at 16,000sq.m on an unde- veloped field in Għaxaq and an adjacent scrapyard. The site is owned by Joe Cassar's Tr- ihills Heavy Industry Ltd, and is in the process of being acquired by Alex Zam- mit's Southpark Ltd. The Planning Authority is currently processing another application for an even larger retail hub, on a 35,000sq.m industrial site owned by Schembri Bar- bros Ltd, which presently includes a Lidl supermarket just 300m way from the Trihills scrapyard. The latter application comes with a long history of sanctioned illegalities, and is currently suspended. The Għaxaq application was submit- ted by Southpark director Jurgen Sam- mut. The application seeks new zoning pa- rameters for large-scale commercial de- velopment along the Tal-Barrani Road. The site is currently designated as an 'area of containment' where develop- ment is normally limited to industrial and commercial uses that cannot be lo- cated in urban areas. 4,500sq.m of the site is however also undeveloped. The scrapyard has been operational since the 1980s The proposed development comes with a two-storey underground car park, and ground and first floor level for commercial outlets and outside ca- tering areas. Originally in 1997, the PA had issued an enforcement order against illegali- ties on the scrapyard. In 2017, the PA approved a request filed in 2006 to reg- ularise the site and build a three-storey administration block, after the yard was designated as ELV Treatment Facility. In 2019, it approved a 2,500sq.m ex- tension and a garage for heavy vehicles. The Għaxaq council objected, calling the scrapyard a highly-visible eyesore. The developers now claim redevelop- ment into a commercial area will reduce the negative environmental and visual impacts of the yard, to the benefit of consumers in the south of Malta mak- ing use of larger and specialised retail shops. The developers say the land does not qualify for agricultural land classifica- tion, and that it can sustain any traffic generated due to its siting along a main arterial road. With around 4,000sq.m in roof space, there is large potential for solar energy harvesting. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has already warned the site may yield archaeological finds due to a nearby cluster of recorded tombs at Tal-Ħotba to the north of the site. Both the Superintendence and the PA's De- sign Advisory Committee (DAC) ex- pressed reservations on the impact on the surrounding landscape. The original plans for the Centerparc mall was to have a soft landscaped roof. Now it will go over 11m above the Qormi Road 16,000sq.m mall to replace Ħal Għaxaq scrapyard and adjacent field