Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517531
9 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 MARCH 2024 Tum Invest eyes 116 dwellings on Qormi farmland TUM Invest is proposing the con- struction of 113 apartments, three terraced houses and two cafeterias on a green enclave within Qormi's development zone. The residential development will be fitted in four full floors and two receded floors. The application also foresees the excavation of three underground levels to include parking spaces, seven shops and a gym. The application presented by Silvan Fenech, a director of Tum Invest, covers the entire 3,928sq.m site between Triq il-Helsien, Triq x-Xitwa and Triq in-Nahal. It re- places another application on a smaller portion of the land parcel last year which envisaged the de- velopment of 49 apartments. The latest application foresees the retention of a farmhouse pos- sibly dated to the late 18th and early 19th century which also in- cludes an ghorfa and remissa. The Superintendence of Cul- tural Heritage has welcomed the retention of the old structures and while not excluding the develop- ment, it called for "further engage- ment" with the architect in the formulation of plans for the area. The applicant has acknowledged that the development will result in the felling of trees in the area which include two large ficus trees and the demolition of rubble walls. The Environment and Resourc- es Authority has not objected to the proposed development while recommending that the existing trees should be transplanted with- in the project or to another site. It has also asked the developer to provide information on the in- crease in daily traffic generated by the development. In the application Fenech de- clares that he does not own the site but has been granted consent by the owners to apply for the pro- posed development. The area is designated in the local plan for residential devel- opment consisting of three floors and a semi basement which over the past years has been inter- preted to correspond to a metric height of 17.5m in which develop- ers often fit four floors and a pent- house level. In this case, plans foresee an ad- ditional receded floor, taking ad- vantage of different site levels. The application is an outline one, which means that in this case the PA will first approve the mass- ing, height and permitted uses before considering a full planning application which would allow construction works to commence. The Planning Authority is cur- rently assessing a zoning appli- cation presented by Ray Fenech's A&A properties to change the street alignment on both sides of Triq il-Helsien and Triq id-Dra- gun and the creation of a pave- ment on land outside the present alignment. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt A land parcel located within the development zone in Qormi could be turned into a six storey 'mixed use' development that will envelope vernacular structures