Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520947
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2024 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt A residential five-storey block is being proposed on 986sq.m of arable land in the outskirts of Zejtun, in close vicinity to the Grade-1 scheduled Casa Verdi. Casa Verdi is a historical dwelling believed to have been the residence of Klement Tab- one, the Maltese landowner who led a militia that repelled an Ottoman raid in 1614. The house in Triq San Klement was scheduled as a Grade 1 monu- ment in 1995. Tabone also paid for the construction of the nearby St Clement's Church, which in- cludes an altarpiece dedicated to his memory. The development is being proposed by Gozo magnate Jo- seph Portelli's business part- ner, Silvan Mizzi, and archi- tect Maria Schembri Grima, who previously chaired the Building and Construction Authority. The application foresees the construction of basement ga- rages, and four overlying floors of residential units with a re- cessed level, in the field behind the historical dwelling at the corner between Triq tal-Fana and Triq E. Attard Bezzina. The application foresees the removal of existing rubble walls and the uprooting of the exist- ing 14 citrus trees. Silvan Mizzi declared although he does not own the entire site, he is au- thorised to carry out the pro- posed development through an agreement with the owner. The application comes in the wake of a zoning application proposing a pedestrian road passing right through the field which will make the develop- ment possible. Otherwise, the development will be regard- ed as an internal development which is not allowed by law. Wirt iż-Żejtun is strongly objecting to this zoning appli- cation which if approved "will automatically pave the way" for the development of the field at the back of the historical dwell- ing. Since the building is being proposed in the buffer zone of a historical monument, de- velopers will have to prove through photomontages that the development not negative- ly impact on the setting of the monument. THE high-rise developers on the former Trade Fair grounds in Naxxar are objecting to new zoning plans by Sciclunas Estates – owners of the grounds adjoin- ing Palazzo Parisio – which they claim will prejudice their "vested rights and legistimate expecta- tions." San Pawl tat-Targa Investments, a subsidiary of Virtu Holdings, are developing a 10-storey and eight-storey tower project on one part of the expansive grounds near the former trade fair. A new zoning request by Marcus Marshall and Christianne Ramsay Pergola, heirs of the noble Mar- quis John Scicluna, wants a foot- ball ground currently designated as a public open space, to be used for low-rise commercial develop- ment. The heirs want to turn over 53,500 square metres of land pre- viously used to host the annual Trade Fair, into 29 apartment blocks – most heights will climb from one storey to six, then one block of seven storeys, three of eight storeys, and two nine-storey blocks. The Marquis's heirs claim full ownership of the entire site, in- cluding most of the football ground area earmarked for low- rise commercial development. But the football ground had been included in another, approved zoning request from 2017 – by another consortium of developers – to develop it into an open space; subsequently, the developers of the two high-rise towers, in what is now the former parking area of the trade fair, had to fork out €324,000 to the Planning Authority's Urban Improvements Funds for the pub- lic open spaces. The 2017 zoning permit it- self covers not only the football ground but also the car park area where the PA approved the de- velopment by San Pawl tat-Targa Investment, as established by the zoning parameters of 2017. Adja- cent projects now include another block of apartments towards an- other end of the car park. It is the overlapping between the two zoning applications which has prompted the objection by San Pawl tat-Targa Investment. Although the Sciclunas Estates application does not impinge di- rectly on the tower development which is under construction, SPTT Investment claims its rights will be impinged upon with the Sciclunas "attempting to take hold of this land by including it in their application notwithstanding that it forms part" of an already approved zoning permit. SPTT said Sciclunas are aware of the 2017 zoning and that the company had not availed of the "available remedies" to "safe- guard the rights they are alleging to have." The objection does not specif- ically state how approval of Sci- clunas Estates' masterplan for the trade fair grounds would impact on the already-approved tower de- velopment in. But SPTT is calling on the PA to reject this application "if is deemed to conflict or affect in any way" the zoning application approved in 2017 and the high rise permit issued in 2021. Zejtun field near historic monument earmarked for five- storey block Naxxar trade fair: Tower builders object to Marquis's plans Five-storey block proposed by Joseph Portelli business partner earmarked near Grade 1 home of militiaman who repelled Ottoman raid Sciclunas Estates seek one-storey commercial development with overhanging sports facilities in Trade Fair's football ground