Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1429136
NEWS 6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 NOVEMBER 2021 LAURA CALLEJA MOVIMENT Graffitti has de- scribed the recommended ap- proval of an application to convert a disused explosives factory in Dingli into ten bungalows, as an- other planning travesty. The Planning Authority is set to decide on the controversial devel- opment this Thursday, which the NGO said will see more unspoilt land taken up for the construction of dwellings complete with a pool, car park and management block. "This application is a shame- less attempt to circumvent con- straints on ODZ development. If approved, this may well open the door to similar applications in other areas of Malta," the NGO said. "The land in question lies with- in a Special Area of Conservation due to the high ecological value of the cliff habitat, and adjacent to two Special Protection Areas for the conservation of breeding sea- birds which would be impacted by light pollution. It is also a sched- uled Area of Ecological Impor- tance and Area of High Landscape Value." The group also asked whether the site's ODZ designation stands for something in view of developers' constant and persistent tactics to undermine the protection granted to the site by the ODZ status. "The original permit for the factory even included an explicit condition which states that the premises are not to be used or fur- nished as holiday flats by tourists. The permit was granted on the basis that the hazardous nature of the factory's production required a location away from residential areas." Moviment Graffitti also high- lighted what it said was the devious manner in which Infrastructure Malta connected the water supply to the disused factory ahead of the planning application, noting that the previous applications in 2017 were rejected because there were no such services the site. "Infrastructure Malta has fun- nelled public funds to service a private development, ensuring that the developers find the fewer obstacles possible in their bid to commercialise an unspoilt area. The applicant herself, Maria Sant, declared in the application that no trenching was required to connect the development to the water dis- tribution network. This amounts to a written confirmation that IM has used public funds to get pri- vate developments greenlighted," the NGO said. In addition, a magisterial inquiry on misuse of EU funds has been ordered by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, who concluded that there is the possibility of a crimi- nal act being committed. The inquiry is investigating the Parliamentary Secretary respon- sible for EU funds Stefan Zrin- zo Azzopardi, the Dingli Local Council, and other government entities on the misuse of EU funds used to build a high rubble wall in the road leading to the proposed development. "Not only did the PA never in- tervene to halt works, but the board members voting in favour of the development risk becoming accomplices in a criminal act," the group said. The NGO said the construction process would see heavy vehicles passing through narrow country lanes, destroying the serenity of the area, while the increased traf- fic from tourists and service vehi- cles will undoubtedly pose a threat to the area's ecological and land- scape value, rendering any legal provisions taken to preserve the area useless. Moviment Graffitti also criti- cised the Environment and Re- sources Authority, who had first objected to the development but then changed its mind after the presentation of fresh plans. "The ERA's U-turn is clear for everyone to see. The authority first stated that it "does not sup- port the principle that [prior] development should serve as a pretext for committing sites to further development". The group also highlighted how the Superintendence of Cultur- al Heritage stated in no unclear terms that the "intensification of development would inevita- bly result in the formalisation of this significant rural and cultural landscape Outside Development Zone", recommending the demo- lition and rehabilitation of the site. The Dingli Local Council has also objected to the development. Moviment Graffitti said that this application should be rejected and calls for an end to the constant ap- peasing of developers hellbent on "turning the countryside into their personal cash machine," with the use of public funds as in this case. Dingli hotel is planning travesty, says Moviment Graffitti JAMES DEBONO ON the eve of the Planning Au- thority board's decision on a hotel proposed instead of a for- mer explosives factory, the La- bour-led Dingli local council has announced it will vote against the project. The project is being proposed by Sunroute Company Ltd, which operates the Hotel Santana in Qa- wra, whose shareholders are the four children of renowned busi- nessman Albert Sant of JB Stores Ltd. The DIngli council contends that since the disused explosives factory at Dingli cliffs had to be located outside development zones because of safety issues but i no longer required, the said land is to be "returned to nature, with the area reinstated to its original state as deemed appro- priate for such an important and protected site". The PA board meets to discuss the controversial application to- morrow. The proposed 14-room hotel, built in ten separate blocks with a communal 96sq.m pool area, has been recommended for ap- proval despite the strong objec- tions of the Dingli local council, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, and over 500 individual objections. The Environment and Resourc- es Authority however changed its stance on the development: orig- inally objecting to the change of use of the building when the de- velopment was proposed by Dirk Hili's La Toc Ltd, it subsequently accepted a downscaled version proposed by Sunroute Ltd, which was also endorsed by the Malta Tourism Authority. While the development is limit- ed to the footprint of the existing complex, approval of the appli- cation will create a new 'tourism' commitment on the site, possibly triggering further development in the future. In fact in its original objection ERA had warned that in the future it would be difficult to contain the development within the com- mitted area as the project would create a demand for ancillary de- velopment to support the inten- sified use such as "utility services and drainage systems, and longer- term development pressures to extend the established develop- ment." On its part the Dingli council warned that the proposal will commercialize an otherwise un- spoilt area and will generate a sig- nificant amount of activity in an otherwise completely quiet and rural area. The council was particularly irked by the ERA's approval of the development, noting that its as- sessment left much to be desired for a site with such a high ecolog- ical value and its failure to assess the negative effect that the light- ing emitted from the proposed development will cause on the habitats of the fauna in this Natu- ra 2000 site. "ERA did not deem fit to mention at least one sentence on the issue of light pollution in such a sensitive site." The case officer recommending the hotel's approval described the proposed hotel as "far more rural" than the existing abandoned fac- tory, which however attracts no traffic or activity to the otherwise pristine area. But the case officer contends that current structures with un- ruly blank walls will be removed, and external concrete ground coverings will be adjusted to com- plement the rural setting. The case officer proposed a con- dition to preclude the sale of ho- tel rooms as individual residential units, ensuring the complex oper- ates as one functional unit and not sold or transferred separately. Council will vote against Dingli hotel Dingli' s explosives factory should be demolished and returned to nature, says local council