Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536636
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 JUNE 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Social Climate Fund Public Consultation Have your Say! Applicant shaves off one floor from Naxxar ODZ elderly home A proposed old people's home instead of a disused livestock farm building in Naxxar will have one-storey less, according to new plans. The original planning permit for a four-storey building with 60 rooms was approved in 2023 but later revoked by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. Now, fresh plans submitted by project proponent and Labour councillor Marlon Brincat en- visage the removal of a receded floor. The change reduces the number of beds from 60 to 46 and the number of rooms from 47 to 40. The building will now consist of a basement level and two overly- ing floors instead of three. The old people's home is be- ing proposed in the countryside between Naxxar and Għargħur, in close vicinity to the Tal-Laqx windmill and the Semaphore Tower. The permit issued in December 2023 was revoked by the tribunal last February. The permit had been approved despite objections from the Environment and Re- sources Authority (ERA), which had described the development as "unacceptable" and "visually intrusive". But the tribunal's decision left a window open for Brincat by asking the Planning Authority to reconsider the application from the stage preceding the case of- ficer's report. The report is where a recommendation is made on whether the development should be approved or not. This gave Brincat the oppor- tunity to revise the proposal by downscaling the project in a way that reduces its visual impact. ERA still has to express a verdict on the downscaled plans. The disused livestock farm where Labour Naxxar councillor Marlon Brincat wants to build an elderly home Church consents to mobile kiosk opposite Ta' Pinu Sanctuary amid objections THE erection of a mobile ki- osk and toilet, with the church's blessing, at the Ta' Pinu Sanc- tuary is being opposed by the Għarb council and the heritage watchdog. The controversy is about a small 13sq.m mobile kiosk and a mo- bile toilet being proposed on land next to the palm trees in front of the church. The location is on the opposite side of the road, facing a coach parking area. In official documentation, the applicant states that although he does not own the land in ques- tion, he was given the consent by the landowner—in this case, the church. However, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) and the Għarb local council are ob- jecting to the plans. The SCH expressed concern that the location "is not appropri- ate for the installation of a kiosk and mobile toilet, as it will nega- tively impact the cultural integri- ty of the site." The local council warned that the development would obstruct views and violate the "serenity" of the sanctuary, which it described as a "sacred and iconic place." The council has also asked the authorities to relocate another ki- osk that has been erected on the other side of the church parvis.