Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521430
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 MAY 2024 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt AL fresco diners in a proposed rooftop seating area on top of the Baia beach club lido will not be getting any shade after the owners had to drop plans for a 7 meter high tented struc- ture covering the dining area. The tented structure was dropped from the plans after the Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had objected to "visual clutter" in the vicinity of the Torri tal-Armier Redoubt which is adjacent to the lido. But following these changes the proposals, consisting of an unsheltered 120 sq.m rooftop seating area and the sanction- ing of an adjacent sunbed area, have gained the endorsement of the Planning Directorate. The SCH has not commented on the latest plans which still envisage the erection of a lift structure in the rooftop seating area. The application also foresees the sanctioning of the concrete platform used for sunbeds and the installation of timber deck- ing over it. The application was present- ed by restaurant owner Jona- than Mangion. Originally known as the Beachcomber, the restaurant which is located on public land was granted an operating per- mit in 1977 but no permit was issued for the erection of the concrete platform which pro- tects the property from storms and on which sun beds are placed. Back in 1999 the PA had turned down an application to turn the concrete platform in front of the establishment into a sunbed area as this was deemed to be against policies securing public access to the coastline. But this decision was reversed two years later by an appeals tribunal on condition that the first 4.5m from the shoreline are not obstructed by any struc- ture and that the government retains the right to remove the structure in any future project to rehabilitate the beach. The concrete platform which had been steeped down to- wards the shore line, creating areas to place sunbeds still de- viated from plans approved in 2011, and the present applica- tion is also meant to sanction deviations from these plans. A final decision on the case will be taken by the Planning Authority on 16 June. PLANS for a new ODZ super- market along the Dun Karm Psaila 'Birkirkara' bypass have been abandoned for the second time in the past decade. The application original- ly submitted by Jason Pace in 2022 but which later appeared under the name of Charlene Sciberras was withdrawn on 21 May. The proposal was withdrawn just a day after another appli- cation for an ODZ supermarket near the pollinator garden in San Gwann was also withdrawn. The application was also origi- nally submitted by Jason Pace but later appeared under the name of Meleney Gauci. Both applications were sub- mitted by architects JG Periti. The same agricultural plot along the B' Bkara had pre- viously been earmarked for a Lidl supermarket in 2015 but the application was withdrawn after a few months. On that occasion former MDA boss Sandro Chetcuti complained about the uneven playing field for those oper- ators buying premium in de- velopment zones, while others acquire cheap ODZ land. Although sandwiched be- tween Birkirkara and the San Gwann industrial area and Ma- ter Dei hospital, the ODZ sta- tus of the area creates a buffer between the two densely ur- banised localities. The Planning Authority's own policy regulating super- markets shows a preference for supermarkets located inside, or at the edge of town centres, to minimise car use, aimed at en- couraging multi-purpose trips and making supermarkets ac- cessible by public transport. But between 2006 and 2008 the PA had still controversially ap- proved two Lidl supermarkets outside the development zones in Luqa and Safi. Baia beach club set to get rooftop seating area Plans for ODZ supermarket along B'Kara bypass scrapped Case officer recommends approval of rooftop seating area on the Armier lido after owners remove a proposed rooftop tent Application abandoned a day after plans for an ODZ supermarket in San Gwann were dropped JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The restaurant is located on public land and was granted an operating permit in 1977