Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1432205
NEWS 6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 NOVEMBER 2021 JAMES DEBONO THE Environmental and Re- sources Authority has dropped its previous objection to a 5,200sq.m shooting range in Siggiewi, proposed outside de- velopment zones. The range will be situated inside a disused but largely backfilled quarry in an area at Ta' Bur ix-Xewk in Siggiewi, in very close proximity to the Ar- ka ta' Noe zoo and 270m away from residential areas. As proposed by landowner Antoine Vella, the shooting bays will be constructed in a basement level beneath a car park and a clubhouse. The quarry was only used for the extraction of limestone for five years and was partly back- filled and left abandoned for over 35 years. The portion in-filled in the past is covered with soil and used for agricultural purposes. The quarry is then surrounded by agricultural land and other quarries east and south of the site. The site also lies on the groundwater safeguard zone, 500m away from two envi- ronmentally sensitive valleys, Wied Xkora and Wied Qirda. The latter is protected as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) of national importance. A year ago ERA had warned against the introduction of "new development commit- ments" in this rural area, in- sisting that the entire quarry should be rehabilitated back to agricultural land. While the ERA had objected to the excavation of the already backfilled parts of the quarry to accommodate the shooting range, in a screening report it now claims that following "fur- ther evaluation" it had decided that the site is not as incom- patible with "the proposed af- ter-use as initially perceived". Instead ERA asked for more studies and photo montag- es a study on how noise from the shooting range would im- pact on receptors, and an ex- pert opinion on the potential contamination from ammuni- tion waste generated from the shooting activities on site. The proposed shooting range will cater for various target-shooting disciplines through four different shoot- ing bays, including a dynamic shooting bay, two bays for pis- tol bull's eye training, and one for rimfire benchrest and cen- tre-fire benchrest disciplines. Built over a 5,100sq.m foot- print the range includes stor- age and sanitary facilities, a clubhouse, a parking area for 73 spaces, hard and soft land- scaping. The proponents claim that the main objective is to address "the need of professional and state-of-the-art shooting rang- es in Malta" which can help in the professional training of se- curity personnel and as a sports discipline. Vella said the area will be re- stored by its landscaping and thanks to its flatness, limit any visual impact, since it can only be seen from the country road Triq tal-Ghaqba. Vella said he will reduce noise impact by shielding the shoot- ing lines in all the bays from the upper car park and road levels by an overlying concrete slab and the natural rock walls of the excavated quarry. The concrete and timber slabs will serve to deflect any errant rounds into the range's ground soft layer, which will absorb most of the energy of the round. Architect Daniel Micallef, the Labour Party deputy leader, is responsible for the design and supervision of the proposed project. A similar proposal made in 2016 was withdrawn after the PA's planning directorate rec- ommended refusal for being in breach of the local plan, which stipulates that disused quarries should be converted back to agricultural use. A draft policy regulating the development of shooting rang- es published in 2015 limits the number of shooting ranges to "one national shooting range" which meets international standards while foreseeing a number of smaller shooting ranges. The policy foresees the loca- tion of such development in disused quarries, derelict land and military installations. ERA drops objections to Siggiewi shooting range THE Planning Authority has ignored the advice of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, to approve the demolition of a modernist villa on Old Railway Road in Balzan that will make way for yet another five-storey behemoth. The Superintendence described the existing building as "a fine terraced house built in mod- ernist style" endowed with "materials, colours and properties typical of its period which merits integration and preservation, at least in part." Described as a Maltese adaptation of the mod- ernist style the 1960s, the villa will be replaced by a four-story block of eight flats, a penthouse with swimming pool, and basement garages. The Superintendence had recommended that the front part of the villa be retained and in- corporated within the development, or at least, reconstruct the dismantled façade long the new building's alignment. But it was overruled by the PA's development directorate (formerly planning directorate), which said the proposed façade was "considered as a good alternative as a replacement for the ex- isting façade." The development was approved because it was in line with the height limitation of the site. Cu- riously when approving the development ear- lier this month, the PA's planning commission noted there were no objectors present and that no concern was raised for the total demolition of the existing villa from any other third party, NGO or the Superintendence for Cultural Her- itage. No mention was made to the SCH's clear recommendation to incorporate the facade of the villa in the new development. In a previous sitting the planning commission had expressed concern on the visual massing of the new buildings but subsequently concluded that the proposed setbacks provided an adequate transition to the adjoining villa development. Balzan modernist villa bites the dust for five-storey block