Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540142
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Parking proposed on Pace Grasso football ground INFRASTRUCTURE Malta has submitted an application to transform the abandoned Pace Grasso football ground into a "surface open-air parking area" for 201 cars, located close to the locality's health centre. The car park, also described as a 'mobility hub' in the plans submitted to the Planning Au- thority, is set to include a small kiosk, a BCRS facility, and a public convenience area. Plans also foresee the planting of trees on five landscaped is- lands between parking bays. The site is already being used as an unofficial and unregu- lated parking area. Its use as a 'park and ride' project was an- nounced by Transport Minis- ter Chris Bonnett in November 2024. The application for the car park was submitted following the withdrawal of an applica- tion by the Public Works De- partment, presented in August 2023, to transform the same 10,100 sq.m site into a public park. That project had included extensive afforestation, com- munity gardens, and even a sculpture trail. The withdrawn application al- so foresaw the widening of two existing entrances and the in- stallation of an elevator. It also envisaged converting Triq tal- Borg, and parts of Triq is-Sori- jiet and Triq il-Knisja, into slow streets. This application for develop- ment permission has since been withdrawn by the applicant. The abandoned football pitch was created in the post-war years through the dumping of debris over previously undevel- oped land and is contained by a high embankment wall. The site lies 250 metres north of the Tarxien Temples and approxi- mately 450 metres northeast of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage has not objected to the plans but has warned of the possible presence of ar- chaeological remains beneath the existing development and dumped material. This would require archaeological monitor- ing and possible revisions to the plans. The proposed works for the car park include the internal demo- lition of existing structures, the demolition of the exterior fence located at the edge of the foot- ball pitch, the restoration of the glacis, and the construction of an additional opening. Infrastructure Malta has proposed converting the abandoned Pace Grasso football ground into a 201-space open-air car park, complete with landscaped areas, a kiosk, and public facilities , replacing earlier plans to turn the site into a public park