Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482086
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2022 JAMES DEBONO THE Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage is awaiting for photomontages to be in a posi- tion to assess the visual impact of the proposed reconstruction of the Prime Minister's villa lo- cated along Triq Xrobb l-Gh- agin in Zejtun, 18 meters away from the historical Saint Nich- olas chapel and within the buff- er zone for the Ħal Ġinwi Site of Archaeological Importance. The PM has recently applied to demolish the existing villa and animal enclosures which were regularised by the Plan- ning Authority in 2017 and to construct replacement villa built on two levels, a basement garage, a pool and extensive landscaping. As is standard in applications in archeologically sensitive are- as the cultural heritage watch- dog has warned of the risk that ground disturbance in this area may uncover cultural heritage features that may necessitate amendments to the proposed plans. Moreover any approved development will require that works are archaeologically monitored in keeping with the Terms of Reference issued by the Superintendence of Cultur- al Heritage. The SCH has also issued its clearance for the demolition of the existing structure noting that it is not worthy of preser- vation. The Environment and Resources Authority has also issued its clearance for the pro- posed works noting that the proposed interventions will be limited to the existing commit- ted footprint, it has "no major environmental concerns" on the proposed development. But conservation group Din l-Art Helwa is strongly object- ing to the proposed excavations of a basement level and a pool in the buffer zone of a Class A archaeological site. Moreover while the SCH has called for archeological moni- toring during the works, DLH is insisting that an archaeolog- ical study of the site should be carried out before any works are approved. Din l-Art Ħelwa also objected to the formalization of ODZ land "through requests that can neither be deemed necessary nor justified and which stand to threaten the integrity of the rural environment" A landscaping plan presented by Abela's architect foresees the planting of nine new trees and the relocation of 9 existing trees. The Prime Minister and his wife bought the villa in July 2017 from an elderly couple, days after the PA sanctioned multiple illegalities on the site. The Abelas bought the sprawl- ing property named Cinja at a bargain price of €600,000. The previous owners of the villa had been precluded from selling it, in a case character- ised by conflicting policies and planning interpretations. Abela was at the time the chief lawyer to the Planning Authority when in April 2017, the PA's planning commission approved owner Joseph Camill- eri's request to 'regularise' ille- gal alterations and additions to the dwelling. The permit included no in- volvement of the PA's legal of- fice and during the March elec- tion Abela denied exercising any influence on the authority to regularise the illegalities. The existing property is divid- ed into a 354sq.m main build- ing and a further 91sq.m of rooms built along Triq Xrobb l-Ghagin. The new proposal concen- trates the villa on a 237sq.m footprint with an overlying floor on the area occupied by the present building. In this way the same floor area of 444sq.m will be retained over a smaller footprint. A pool surrounded by a grass area will be constructed on an existing landscaped area which currently includes a wooden gazebo. Areas currently oc- cupied by a duck pool, an ex- isting swimming pool and the existing rooms along the road will be replaced by landscaped areas. Moreover 16 new trees will be planted while 9 existing trees re-located. Illegal works carried out be- fore 1994 The unauthorized works on the villa had been carried out before 1994 and then regu- larised by the PA's planning commission in 2017 just three months before the property was bought by Abela. The illegal extensions had doubled the size of the farm- house to 352sq.m, when such ODZ (outside development zone) buildings could only be extended up to a maximum 200sq.m floor area. The PA's case officer, who recommended approval, recog- nised that the scale of the ad- ditions was the main issue with regularisation, given that the total floor area of the existing building exceeded the 200sq.m allowance. But the case officer justified approval, on the basis of a Ru- ral Policy clause allowing ex- tensions carried out before Oc- tober 1994 to be regularised "if the extension does not visually dominate the existing dwell- ing" and if these are considered "acceptable in the wider land- scape". Moreover, the case officer al- so refers to "steel sheds" on an area of 440sq.m which were re- moved between 1994 and 1998, arguing their removal over 20 years ago to make way for land- scaping, made the sanctioning of the illegally-built structures "acceptable". Since a store proposed for sanctioning was located at a lower level from the rest of the building, the case officer felt it did not visually dominate the site. As often happens in similar cases involving ODZ dwellings, the favourable recommenda- tion was based on an interpre- tation of conflicting policies by the case officer. PM's ODZ villa: DLH objects, Superintendence asks for photomontages DLH insists on archeological investigation of property before any permit for ex-cavations are issued while Superintendence for Cultural Heritage asks for pho-tomontages