Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1511521
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 NOVEMBER 2023 NEWS NEWS Birzebbuga council objects to real estate on Enemalta's land in Qajjenza Man gets drunk, smashes car windows at 3am, court hears JAMES DEBONO THE Labour-led Birżebbuġa council has objected to real estate development on the site of the decommissioned LPG gas stor- age facility along the Qajjenza coastline. The site is substantially owned by En- emalta, and the council has called for its conversion into a "public green recreation- al space." The project could also possibly include infrastructure for more pressing social needs for residents in the area like sports facilities or an old people's home, the council said. The site is being proposed for real estate in a zoning application presented by devel- oper Paul Attard's Katari Developments Limited. Katari does not own the land in question but was granted consent for the zoning application by Enemalta and the other owners. The council noted that the application is proposing an increase in the height limi- tation for the area from the current three storeys to a maximum of eight, and an in- crease of the current built-up footprint. "This will certainly result in a negative visual impact to the predominantly resi- dential buildings found at the western and north-western side of the site and the agri- cultural fields surrounding the area on the north and north-eastern sides," the coun- cil said in a formal objection sent to the Planning Authority. The council also presented a list of "pri- ority projects" which should be considered in the area including open green areas; playing fields and small sporting facilities for children and young adults; a home for the elderly and an underground car park. The council called on the Planning Au- thority to consider the plight of Birżeb- buġa residents who "throughout the years been inundated with numerous land uses that negatively influenced their livelihood, including the power station, freeport, air- port, industrial estate, amongst others". Moreover, it lamented the absence of suit- able open spaces for families and children in the Qajjenza area. "Hence, new developments must serious- ly focus on improving the residents' health and well-being and definetly not increas- ing the built-up footprint of the locality," the council said. More than 200 objections have been presented against the proposed develop- ment in the past week. These included objections by the Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa and Moviment Graffitti. MaltaToday had confirmed last week that Enemalta issued its consent for the zoning application which also foresees amendments to the local plan to allow the development of four residential blocks and two office blocks on 47% of the 23,906sq.m site. Most of the site is owned by Enemalta (13,561 sq.m) and the government (3,408 sq.m). An additional 6,273sq.m are held by private owners. In comments to MaltaToday Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has defended the decision of the Enemalta board of direc- tors to issue its consent for Paul Attard's zoning application. Replying to MaltaToday's questions a spokesperson for the minister described the site as an "important financial asset for Enemalta's operations" and invoked the need to strike a balance "between invest- ment and green projects through different initiatives and investments". According to the Energy Minister, the aim of the application presented by Attard is to "ask the Planning Authority to de- termine the uses, layout and buildings for possible future developments in this site within the development zone". The minister insisted that the consent given by Enemalta's board of directors for the zoning application to be filed "bears no significance on the title of the site". "This does not impinge on Enemalta's owner- ship of part of the same site, nor did En- emalta transfer or sell any of its land," she said. With regards to the potential use of the site as a green space, the energy minister pointed out that Enemalta is also consid- ering regenerating an adjacent plot of land it owns into a public space. The gas tanks at the Qajjenza facility were dismantled after Enemalta divested itself of the LPG sector MATTHEW AGIUS A late-night drunken rampage in which three parked vehicles were damaged has landed a man in the dock on Tuesday. Kailash Sharma, a 36-year-old Nepalese man, living in Birkir- kara was charged with three counts of criminal damage committed on vehicles parked in Triq F.S. Caruana, Birkirkara. Police Inspector Joseph Mall- ia, prosecuting, explained that at around 3:00am on Monday, the police had received a re- port of a drunk man damaging cars. Police officers were dis- patched to the location, finding the defendant in the middle of the road. A person standing on a balcony overlooking the area told the officers that the man had been breaking windows. Sharma was taken into custo- dy, resisting officers in the pro- cess. He was too drunk to un- derstand the rights being read out to him and so was taken for medical treatment, eventually ending up at Mater Dei Hospi- tal. In the meantime, police had confirmed that he was the of- fender from CCTV footage and footage from the person on the balcony who had also filmed the incident. He was arrested after sober- ing up, subsequently releasing a statement in which he stated that he could not remember the incident. The total cost of repairing the damage caused to the three vehicles was estimated at €970, said the inspector. Lawyer Martha Mifsud, rep- resenting Sharma as legal aid counsel informed presiding magistrate Kevan Azzopardi that the defendant was pleading not guilty. She also requested bail, argu- ing that the intention behind the damage was generic and not to target the specific individuals concerned. Furthermore, the crime did not carry a serious punishment and the damage caused was under the €2,500 le- gal threshold. Bail was granted, secured by a deposit of €500. Court heard how the accused was too drunk to be arrested on the scene and had to sober up before understanding the rights being read out to him