Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481540
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 OCTOBER 2022 NEWS The Planning Authority drops plans to renew massive Kalkara development on 6,200sq.m green area through summary procedure Authority changes tack on Kalkara apartment project JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has dropped plans to use the sum- mary procedure to renew a permit for the construction of 88 apartments on 6,200sq.m of green open space in Kalkara. The PA has decided to assess the permit through a full appli- cation process. This means that the case of- ficer will now have to assess whether the application orig- inally approved in 2012 con- forms to the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Devel- opment (SPED) which came in place in 2015. Had the application been re- newed through the summary procedure, no case officer re- port would have been required. The SPED refers to the need to "protect green open spaces which contribute towards the character and amenity of urban areas" through the "reduction of soil sealing and (by) support- ing bio diversity." It also refers to the need of "ecological corridors" in urban areas. It also states that devel- opment in "historical sites is carried out in a manner so to ensure that the skyline is not adversely effected." MaltaToday reported last month that the Planning Au- thority was set to renew a per- mit set to expire in January 2023, through the short pro- cedure. The application was recommended for approval in the absence of a case officer's report. A PA spokesperson had con- firmed "that since the applica- tion is being assessed through the summary process, no case officer report is being pre- pared". But a PA spokesperson has now confirmed that the renew- al application will be processed through the full process which requires a case officer report. The decision to revert the application to the full process was taken on 30 September a few days after the publication of the MaltaToday story. Renewal applications are list- ed in planning law among the kinds of developments which can be exempted from the full application process. Apart from renewal appli- cations, these include minor applications like swimming pools and blocks of less than 16 apartments located within the development zone and outside the urban conservation area. By law 'summary' applica- tions are decided within 42 days, and are determined by the chairperson of the Planning Board or his delegate, within six weeks from the publication of the application instead of 12 weeks as required in normal applications. In this case, developer Law- rence Fino chose to file the ap- plication through the summary process after withdrawing a previous application submitted in May requiring the full pro- cess. Yet, even when a developer files an application under the summary procedure, the PA can still choose to apply the full procedure. By law this is done when representations are re- ceived within the consultation period and the chairperson of the Planning Board or his del- egate deems such representa- tions carry planning merits. In this case 11 objections were filed by a number of residents, including Moviment Graffitti, reporting the loss of a massive open space which includes old carob and pomegranate trees. The land in question was con- troversially included in devel- opment zones in 2002 despite protests by residents. Fino's ap- plication was approved in 2012 despite opposition by the local council, and renewed through the full application process in 2017. This permit is set to ex- pire in January 2023. In 2017 the application was re- newed with the condition that neighbouring properties are surveyed before commence- ment of works, since several safety issues were raised with regards to excavation works because of the alleged presence of wells, hallows, and caves in the area. The condition will still stand if the permit is re- newed. Moreover, the Plan- ning Authority can also impose additional conditions. In the absence of changes to policy and local plans or the issue of conservation orders, renewal permits are normally approved but there have been cases where these were not granted. One notable case involved the PA's refusal of the renewal of a permit issued in 2011 for a new cemetery in Pembroke which was still turned down because a new policy introduced in 2014 banned the development of new cemeteries.