Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533939
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 APRIL 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt A private school is being proposed on 2,628sq.m of agricul- tural land, opposite the roundabout facing the Liquid Club in San Gwann. The ODZ site is at the intersection between Triq tal-Balal and Triq l-Ibrag. The new school will be located 100 me- tres away from the St Michael Foundation School, also sit- uated outside the development zone. The proposal is being put forward by Newark School, which plans to relocate from its current premises in Paris- io Street, Sliema. As proposed, the development will consist of a four-sto- rey building overlying basement parking. It will include five nursery classes accommodating 93 children and 26 classes from Kinder 1 to Year 11, each hosting up to 26 students, for a total of 769 students. The educational facility will also feature a multipurpose hall, a library, science and IT labs, a substation, and other ancillary facilities. Newark does not own the site but has been authorised to carry out the proposed development through an agree- ment with the private owner. In 2023, the Planning Au- thority approved the relocation of an agricultural store on the same farm after the original structure was removed due to roadworks. The application had been presented by a registered farmer. The local plan limits development on agricultural land to structures and uses essential to agriculture. However, the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) allows certain developments such as schools, hos- pitals, and homes for the elderly in ODZ areas – but only as a last resort, after proponents have considered urban sites. Private school wants to relocate to ODZ site in San Gwann Newark School wants to relocate out of Sliema and has presented a planning application to build a new school opposite the Liquid Club in San Gwann The proposed development top) will consist of a four-storey building overlying basement parkin in a 2,628sq.m of agricultural land (above) opposite the roundabout facing the Liquid Club in San Gwann (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) GODFREY Gambin, 48, has been handed a four-year prison sentence, and fined €11,600 after being found guilty of involuntar- ily killing Mary Jane Turned, a mother of three, in a 2017 traffic accident. The accident, which hap- pened in Triq Sir Temi Zam- mit, the road leading from Mo- sta to Mġarr, goes back to 20 August 2017. Gambin was also found guilty of causing grievous injuries to Billy Joel Zammit. Police inspector Denise Camilleri, who was the first to arrive on the scene, told the court that she recieved a call that a traffic incident had oc- curred on Triq Temi Zammit, Mġarr. She told the court that the car driven by the accused was upside down and that she saw Gambin covered in blood. Turner, who was in the passen- ger seat of the upside down car, was certified dead on site. Camilleri also saw a Mazda Demio car lodged on the pave- ment on the opposite side of the road. The vehicle belonged to Billy Joel Zammit who was also greviously injured in the collision. Inspector Camilleri said Zam- mit claimed that he was driving on the road leading to Mġarr and suddenly he saw a car driv- ing in the opposite direction towards him in the same lane. Zammit told her that it was too late to dodge the vehicle speeding towards him, result- ing in the head on collision. Upon testifying in the mages- terial inquiry, Zammit also told the court that the accused's vehicle collided head on with his, and that upon impact, the windscreen of his car shattered and his vehicle circled twice before ending up on the pave- ment of the other side of the road. On Tuesday morning, Magis- trate Caroline Farrugia Frendo handed the accused a four-year prison term, a €11,600 fine and suspended his licence for three months. Inspector Godwin Scerri prosecuted. Man handed four-year prison sentence over 2017 road fatality MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt Man imprisoned over 2017 Mġarr traffic accident which left one woman dead on the spot, and a car driver grievously injured