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NEWS 6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 01 SEPTEMBER 2021 Garden of Eden: Baldacchino now wants car park back JAMES DEBONO THE Zurrieq local council has welcomed an application by Maurizio Baldachino, the owner of the Garden of Eden complex, to reinstate an illegal car park over 4,917sq.m of land to its original natural state. The planning application origi- nally envisaged the removal of the existing concrete surface, the rein- statement of soil and the planting of olive trees. But the application was later changed, and now wants the res- toration of the area to its origi- nal state. The car park had been subject to an enforcement order against the illegal levelling of the site since 1998. The local council has asked that the restoration of the site should follow instructions by the Envi- ronment and Resources Authority (ERA), which it says should deter- mine whether the site be covered with soil or restored as garigue. ERA has already confirmed that the owners have presented a method statement showing how they intend restoring the site to its original state. ERA is insisting that all necessary measures are taken to avoid damage to the underlying bedrock; and that exposed bed- rock is not covered with soil, with planting limited to native plants typical of garigue environments. Farmers working adjacent lands recall that the land in question consisted of garigue, with pockets of soil and vegetation, and had al- so called on the Planning Author- ity to insist on its restoration to its original state. Originally, the area occupied by the car park had been earmarked for the development of a number of bungalows. But the application was dropped after ERA insisted on the reinstatement of the car park to its natural state. Instead, Baldacchino recently applied for the demolition of the existing Garden of Eden wedding hall, to build 12 units of one-sto- rey tourist accommodation, each with their own pool and terrace area. The ERA has already ex- empted the project from the need of an environmental impact as- sessment, noting that most of the development will take place on already developed land, but asked for the presentation of photomon- tages showing how the project will impact on coastal views. Baldacchino has also applied to have two new openings on the road, for vehicle access. A neigh- bouring farmer is objecting, due to the presence of a Cypress tree in the proposed access, Doubts remain on the legality of the wedding hall complex it- self. To prove the legality of the structures the owners submitted a letter by former PA Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg, sent to the owners in May 2014, which certified the legality of the site. In his letter, Buttigieg states that following verifications of court procedures and legal advice, "the authority cannot state that the premises in question are illegal or that illegalities exist on site." In 1990, a police license for the nightclub was withdrawn in view of "unauthorized structures" con- sisting of "rooms roofed with a wooden ceiling" which had been erected in the area. But in October 1990, Baldacchi- no was found not guilty of build- ing without a permit, with the magistrate saying there was "rea- sonable doubt" that the structures were built before the revocation of the police trading license. The police and Attorney Gen- eral appealed this decision, argu- ing that the 'no objection' of the Works Department to the disco license did not amount to a permit for the illegal structures. But the appeal was erroneously filed against a certain Joseph Pol- idano, instead of Joseph Baldac- chino. The error was rectified four days later. But Baldacchino con- tested this, arguing that this went beyond the four days the police had to file the appeal; apart from arguing that they had no grounds to appeal the sentence. The At- torney General later withdrew the appeal. Yet with the exception of the police trading license, no planning permits can be actually traced for the present complex. Papal visit postponed last year because of COVID pandemic Illegal car park of 5,000sq.m for holiday complex gets backing of Żurrieq local council CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "SOME trip hypotheses are un- der study for the autumn but it's premature to speak about them," Bruni told AP, in what is a hint that more than one foreign trip is being considered in the peri- od. "The Malta plans so far are for end November although the Vatican has not confirmed the dates yet," the sources in Malta said. Pope Francis had to visit Mal- ta in May last year but the trip was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vis- it had included a stopover in Gozo. Pope Francis will be the third pontiff to visit Malta after St John Paul II and pope emeritus Benedict XVI. The first-ever papal visit took place in 1990 when pope St John Paul II was given a rous- ing welcome. He visited again in 2001 when he beatified Dun Gorg Preca, Sr Adeodata Pisani and cleric Nazju Falzon during a ceremony on the Granaries in Floriana. Preca was made Mal- ta's first saint in 2007. Pope Benedict XVI visited Malta in 2010 at the height of the clerical sex abuse scandal. The pope had even held a pri- vate audience with the Maltese victims of priestly sex abuse.

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