Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508940
NEWS 9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2023 JAMES DEBONO BONNICI Brothers' bid to reg- ularise a 2,000sq.m basement parking for heavy vehicles on an ODZ site in Burmarrad is one step closer to being ap- proved. A new case officer report is recommending approval in marked contrast with anoth- er report issued in November 2022. The new report recommends approval because the appli- cation involves no additional take-up of ODZ land. The pre- vious report had warned of an "intensification" of ODZ devel- opment on the site. The application is proposing the regularisation of excava- tions at basement level, the regularisation of an already constructed 'partial basement level' and the use of the base- ment level for the parking of heavy vehicles and machinery. The site is outside the devel- opment zone of Burmarrad in St Paul's Bay at Triq is-Sardin, corner with Triq San Gwanni Pawlu II. It lies just outside a buffer zone for the San Pawl Milqi chapel and catacombs found in the area. The existing open storage fa- cility covers 3,500sq.m with a 3.5m-high boundary wall en- closing it on Triq is-Sardin. Aerial photos from 1978 show the site completely free of de- velopment. The storage area, close to the heritage site of San Pawl Mil- qi was only regularised in 2017 following an application to sanction the fait accompli in 2008. Plans approved in 2017 had already earmarked a 2540 sq.m parking area for heavy ve- hicles and machinery at ground floor level. In November 2022, a differ- ent case officer had issued a report calling on the PA board to refuse the application argu- ing that approval will lead to the intensification of industri- al activity within a rural area. The extent of hard landscaping being proposed was also con- sidered "excessive", leading to the "unnecessary take-up of agricultural land" in breach of the Rural Policy and Design Guidance, and "further urban sprawl outside the limits for development" which should be accommodated in areas already designated for such uses. The original report was signed by case officer Diane Azzopardi and endorsed by Melisent Sal- iba. A decision on this case was due on 2 February but was sub- sequently postponed pending a review of the case officer re- port, which was recommend- ing a refusal. Now, 10 months down the line the application to sanction the works is being recommend- ed for approval in a new report authored by Jeremy R. Portelli and endorsed by Bernard Ferry. The report concluded that the sanctioning of the illegal works is acceptable since the works "will not result in any addi- tional land uptake from that already covered by previous permits". The report refers to submit- ted drawings indicating that the proposed development would "not result in further urban sprawl outside the lim- its for development" and the development is being accom- modated within an area already committed for such use in the permit sanctioning previous illegalities issued in 2017. Ac- cording to the case office the proposed development will re- sult in the more efficient use of land. Moreover, although the PA's advisory panel on agricultural issues has objected to the pro- posal, the Environment and Resources Authority had con- cluded that "there are no con- cerns regarding the proposal from an environmental point of view". And the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, which was not even consulted when the storage area was sanctioned in 2017, described the site of the development as a very sensitive location, expressing concern at the intensive development "in the vicinity of the San Pawl Milqi heritage site". But since a permit was already issued to sanction illegalities on the site in 2017, the SCH acknowledged that the site was now committed and therefore, it could not object to altera- tions to an approved develop- ment. The St Paul's Bay local council had objected to the de- velopment. Following the publication of the new case officer report, the PA board is scheduled to take a final decision on the proposed development in a public hear- ing set for 9 November. A history of regularisations An application to sanction the illegal storage facilities was originally turned down in 2004 due to the negative impact on the scenic value of the area. Subsequently, an enforcement order was issued against the il- legal change of use of land from agricultural to commercial, and construction of warehous- es without permit. But an application to sanction the works presented in 2008, was approved nine years later despite a case officer report calling for an outright refusal. The justification for over- turning the advice of the case officer was a permit issued in 1988, to enclose the perimeter of the site with an eight-course high masonry wall rather than a low rubble wall, seen as an indication that the site's use of a storage area had been con- sidered in the decision of that permit. All board members, including government representative Jo- seph Sammut and Opposition representative Ryan Callus and former locality mayor Graziel- la Galea had voted in favour at the time. Only ERA chairman Victor Axiak and NGO repre- sentative Annick Bonello had voted against. Bonnici Brothers has recent- ly withdrawn an application to build an ODZ supermar- ket adjacent to the storage area and opposite a proposed roundabout along Triq is-Sar- din in Burmarrad. Infrastruc- ture Malta's application for the proposed roundabout is still pending. A residential project by the same group is also being proposed within development zones on an adjacent site. Timeline 1988: Bonnici Bros awarded permit to erect wall around site which was illegally used as a storage area 2004: PA twice refuses to reg- ularise illegal storage area 2008: Decision to refuse sanctioning upheld by Appeals Tribunal 2008: New application pre- sented to sanction illegal stor- age area 2017: PA board sanctions il- legal development on the same site despite case officer's objec- tion 2021: Bonnici Bros apply to excavate site for a basement parking Parking for Bonnici Brothers' trucks set for approval after PA's change of heart The Bonnici Brothers work yard in Burmarrad