Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1494347
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 MARCH 2023 JAMES DEBONO A case officer is recommending the approv- al of a new road cutting across a 10,066 sq.m green enclave consisting of agricultural fields on the west side of Wied ta`Karawendi in Vic- toria, Gozo, in a bid to provide sreet frontage for apartment blocks planned in the area. The development of the road will also entail the gutting of an old vernacular building abut- ting Triq Il-Belliegha, which is being objected to by the Superintendence for Cultural Her- itage. The zoning application to devise the road layout for the site was submitted by the own- ers of seven plots fronted by Joe Cordina. A declaration of 'no objection' was submitted by the Lands Authority which owns 4,325 sq.m of the site. The Environment and Resources Authority said it did not object to the application as long as this did not extend into a buffer zone for a watercourse found in the area. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had previously objected to the proposed dem- olition of an existing vernacular building in Triq il-Belliegha which has heritage value in its own right and also as part of a cluster of ver- nacular buildings "that should be retained to preserve the contextual cultural heritage value of the area". The Superintendence warned that the approval of the zoning application would be "prejudicial to the survival of the remaining vernacular buildings in the immediate vicin- ity." To address this concern, the case officer has proposed that the demolition be limited to what is strictly necessary to enable the forma- tion of the road and which would "not result in the total demolition of this building". The road in question will have a width of 10 me- tres. The local plan zones the enclave for residen- tial development with a building height lim- itation of three floors. A previous attempt to develop terraced houses, an entertainment centre and youth hostel on the same site was rejected 20 years ago. More than 500 residents have objected to the application. "It is clear that the proposed road would only serve the development... result- ing in increased development density, urban sprawl and proliferation and intensification of built structures". Victoria: PA set to approve road to create frontage for apartments Lands Authority which owns 4325 sq.m of the 10,066 sq,m site earmarked for development had issued its consent for the zoning application The 10,000 sq,m site to be developed in Victoria This old vernacular building abutting Triq Il-Belliegha risks being gutted to make way for the proposed road