Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532358
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Batching plant and bricks factory proposed in Wied Incita quarry THE owners of the Bilven quarry along Triq H'Attard, near Wied Incita are proposing a major development consisting of a batching plant, a bricks manufacturing plant and a re- tail outlet selling building materials. The proposal also foresees new storage fa- cilities, a parking area and landscaped areas. The new development proposed by quarry owner Michael Bugeja is being proposed in the southern quarry in the area facing Wied Incita and the mental health hospital. As proposed the development will in- clude a 2,750sq.m manufacturing area, a 3,570sq.m storage area and a 1,100sq.m re- tail area. But the Environment and Resources Au- thority has already expressed concern that this would set a precedent for similar de- velopments in the rural areas involving the conversion of quarries into commercial fa- cilities instead of their restoration to agri- culture. "The quarry should be restored back to ag- ricultural land and the final landform should follow the original contours of the area," ERA said in its assessment of the proposal. While objecting to the proposal, ERA al- so asked the developer to submit a Projects Description Statement on the basis of which the authority will decide whether an Envi- ronment Impact Assessment is required. The application presented in May is still in its initial screening stage. A permit issued in 2021 had already envis- aged the backfilling and restoration of part of the northern quarry while allowing an ex- tension of other parts of the quarry which is rich in lower coralline limestone. Environment and Resources Authority shoots down proposal insisting that area should be restored back to agriculture San Pawl tat-Targa: Road proposed for new residences on Villa De Giorgio grounds A zoning application is proposing the introduction of a cul-de- sac off Triq San Pawl in Naxxar to enable the development of residences on the grounds of Villa De Giorgio. The site, which is adjacent to Villa Arrigo, currently includes Villa De Giorgio which has served as a residence of the Brit- ish High Commissioner since independence after the property was leased to the UK government in 1961. The villa itself dates back to the early nineteenth century when it was constructed by Robert Peel, a British cotton mer- chant. The cul-de-sac will enable Debro Ltd, which owns the site, to develop the villa grounds. The area is already designated for low density residential development in the local plan but in the absence of the cul de sac no development is allowed beyond a depth of 30m. No application has yet been submitted outlining the pro- posed development that will front the new cul-de-sac. In 2021, the Planning Authority approved three separate ap- plications by the owners of Villa Arrigo in Naxxar to develop six large villas on a 3,000sq.m plot, which forms part of the wedding hall's extensive gardens. This followed a zoning ap- proval in June 2019, paving the way for the development of another cul-de-sac to cater for the new villas. A cul-de-sac is being proposed to serve new dwellings on the 8,900sq.m grounds of Villa De Giorgio which has been leased to the British government since 1961