Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541244
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS Environmental watchdog warns against sprawl in Zabbar's ODZ THE Environment and Resourc- es Authority (ERA) is objecting to plans for the construction of two ODZ swimming pools ad- jacent to an already approved apartment block along Triq in-Nissieg in Żabbar, which pro- trude into ODZ land. The development is being pro- posed by Silvan Mizzi, a busi- ness partner of developer Joseph Portelli. In its objection, ERA noted that it had previously opposed ODZ-related interventions con- nected to a permit issued in March. That permit foresaw the de- velopment of a maisonette and seven apartments within a five-storey building. The origi- nal application had included two pools in the ODZ area, but these were removed and replaced with landscaping in the approved plans. However, in August, a new ap- plication was submitted for the construction of two swimming pools — one measuring 16.2sq.m and another 12.4sq.m — at ground-floor level, in connection with the approved project. In its latest submission, ERA described the construction of the pools and decking in ODZ land as an "environmental concern," warning that it would result in "additional take-up of undevel- oped rural land, site formalisa- tion and further urban sprawl into ODZ land." Mizzi has also submitted an- other application to develop two pools adjacent to another approved development on the opposite side of Triq in-Nissieg, which also borders the ODZ land. In this case, the ERA reiterated its stance against any ODZ devel- opment and requested that the architect submit revised draw- ings clearly indicating the devel- opment zone boundary line. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Photomontage of original plans (2024) to develop the apartment block and ODZ pools — which were omitted from the permit approved in March — but which have resurfaced in the latest application Planning tribunal confirms Hili Ventures' Comino development THE Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) has confirmed the Planning Author- ity's decision to allow a new 140- bed hotel and 16 serviced bunga- lows in Comino. The tribunal on Tuesday reject- ed an appeal filed by nine major environmental NGOs against the permit issued last April for the controversial Comino rede- velopment by Hili Ventures. The project will replace the exist- ing hotel and bungalows in San Niklaw Bay and Santa Marija Bay, respectively The environmental groups had argued that the redevelop- ment breaches Comino's sta- tus as a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation (SAC), involves extensive excavations for 41 swimming pools and the destruction of legally protected garigue areas. They also argued that an in- crease in gross floor area of up to 4,000sq.m, violates local plan safeguards prohibiting intensi- fication of development on the site. Photomontage of the proposed bungalows in Santa Marija Bay, Comino Photomontage of the proposed bungalows in Santa Marija Bay, Comino In rejecting the appeal, the tri- bunal ruled that site-specific lo- cal plan policies for Comino take precedence over general restric- tions on ODZ development. The EPRT concluded that the development conforms to Poli- cy GZ-GHJN-8 of the Gozo and Comino Local Plan, which en- courages the rehabilitation and redevelopment of existing tour- ist facilities in a manner compat- ible with the environment. While acknowledging that a 2,360sq.m increase in gross floor area, the tribunal noted this was offset by the restoration of 8,244sq.m of previously disturbed land. The tribunal also dismissed en- vironmental concerns, including those on the excavation of 41 swimming pools. According to the EPRT these concerns had al- ready been addressed in previous decisions by both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which upheld the Environment and Resources Authority's conclu- sion that the Natura 2000 site's integrity would not be adversely affected if mitigation measures were implemented. But in its decision, the tribu- nal confirmed that the project will involve the loss of current garigue habitat which is legally protected. This claim was cor- roborated by a study carried out by ecology expert Jonathan Henwood. But the tribunal also noted that the loss of 1,220sq.m will be compensated for by an ecological restoration plan for other garigue areas on the island. Consequently, the tribunal confirmed the permit as lawful, justified, and compliant with en- vironmental and planning legis- lation. A photomontage presented by Hili Ventures of the proposed hotel, which will replace the existing shuttered hotel