Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1506631
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 AUGUST 2023 4 JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has ap- proved a new apartment block consisting of 54 new apartments and 41 garages in Victoria, The development is just a few meters away from the Ta' Żejta water- course which serves as a popular recreational area for residents and their children. The development as approved includes two basement lev- els - one of which partly rising above ground level, a ground floor and three overlying levels. Two swimming pools are being proposed at penthouse level. The new block proposed by Mark Agius, a business part- ner of construction magnate Joseph Portelli, will occupy a largely undeveloped a site where the only existing build- ing consists of an unfinished illegally constructed building dating back to the 1990s. This application was origi- nally approved in July 2022 but subsequently the permit was revoked by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal which ordered the re-assess- ment of the application. The Tribunal had also called for the building to be moved 4.5 metres back from the water- course and for the height to be limited to the three floors ap- proved in a zoning application approved in 2011. The zoning application approved in 2011 clearly referred to a height lim- itation of three floors "without basement or penthouses". The case officer justified ap- proval because the develop- ment falls within the 12-meter height limit emerging from An- nex 2 of DC15, which translates height limitations in floors to a height in meters. The approval comes in the wake of new plans submitted by the developer included re- vised basement plans and revi- sions to the Ground Investiga- tion Report. The Environment and Re- sources Authority failed to submit any feedback on the re- vised ground investigation and this was interpreted by the PA as a "no objection". Although the area was includ- ed in development zones in the infamous extension of building boundaries of 2006 development in the area is regulated by Poli- cy GZ-EDGE-1, according to which the massing and facades of the new development, which overlooks ODZ areas, should be designed "in such a manner as to respect the traditional edge of settlement skylines." To mitigate the visual impact of the development a fake win- dow was included in the blank party wall fronting the ODZ. The case officer concluded that the external design "is visually appropriate with the surround- ing environment." PA approves Portelli's block next to Ta' Zejta water course in Gozo PN suggests film rebate scheme should be capped to prevent 'extravagant spending' The site as it stands today is an unfinished building approved before the Planning Authority even existed, but a large part of land remains undeveloped and acts as a buffer zone between residences and the countryside The development is just a few meters away from the Ta' Zejta watercourse which serves as a popular recreational area for residents and their children The Nationalist Party has suggested Malta's film re- bate scheme should be capped according to the pro- duction's size, in order to prevent extravagant taxpay- er spend on movies. Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, culture spokesperson Julie Zahra insisted the PN has never said the rebate scheme should not exist, stating the party was obliged to request an investigation into the matter. The Nationalist Party has formally requested the Auditor General to initiate an investigation into an ex- penditure of approximately €137 million by the Mal- tese Film Commission. According to the PN, these funds were allocated to foreign companies registered outside Malta between September 2018 and August 2023. Recent headlines about a €46.7 million payment to the film company producing the sequel to the block- buster Gladiator raised eyebrows When asked by MaltaToday, about potential cap- ping on the total amount given back to production houses, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo stressed that the film industry's vitality isn't solely reliant on high-grossing films. He noted that in Malta, the industry thrives due to a mix of major hits and smaller-scale projects like tele- vision series that collectively contribute to a "thriving cinematic ecosystem". "Between them, they create the ecosystem. We can't rely only on big-budget movies. Movies like Gladiator, with a huge budget, don't come every year but they come sometimes." Minister Bartolo said. During Tuesday's press conference, Zahra said she "truly doubts" how much incentives are being given to Maltese homegrown artists. "Foreign productions are able to come into the coun- try, bring their own crews and workers and still benefit from the rebate while non-film expenditures such as food are also subsidised by the taxpayer," she said. She said a daily allowance of €300 is given to fund meals and daily expenditure, but in the past, it was a "more realistic" €70. "We need to see how we can protect workers," Zahra said, insisting local jobs are competing against foreign workers. Nationalist MP Darren Carabott also spoke about Film Commissioner Johann Grech's five-minute video where he addressed critics who latched on to a Times story on the cash-back paid out to the Ridley Scott movie Gladiator II. "Other people may call this an attack. The Nation- alist Party is saying this is not an attack, but an inves- tigation," Carabott said. "Let's make an appeal for the responsible expenditure of public funds."