Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542182
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 DECEMBER 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt THE cultural heritage watchdog has confirmed that an assess- ment of land behind the Qrendi Primary School will only take place when a full development application is submitted. The decision taken by the Su- perintendence for Cultural Her- itage (SCH) means that a study for possible heritage remains will take place after zoning rules for the site are approved. The zoning application, sub- mitted by Michael Bugeja's Tan-Nadur Limited, is for a five-storey residential devel- opment and a new access road. Moreover, the application, first submitted in 2020 and reissued for public consultation in Au- gust, covers less than half of the 8,500sq.m site that was added to the development zones in 2006. The areas inclusion in the devel- opment zone was on condition that an archaeological study is carried out to determine wheth- er it could be developed. In its latest comments on the planning control (PC) applica- tion, the superintendence stated that it was raising no objection from a cultural heritage perspec- tive, provided that any eventual development is archaeologically monitored and subjected to a full, comprehensive cultural her- itage assessment by the SCH at a later stage. This means that the heritage assessment will be conducted after the Planning Authority sets planning parameters, includ- ing building heights for the site, but before a permit for works is issued. The study will have to include screening for impacts related to height, massing, and archaeology, according to the SCH. This approach allows the zon- ing process to move forward without first determining wheth- er the site, or the wider area that could potentially be developed, contains significant archaeolog- ical remains enough to warrant protection. This sequencing undermines the condition attached to the site's original inclusion in the de- velopment zone. Nearly 20 years later, no such study has been car- ried out. The concern is compounded by the fact that the application cov- ers less than half of the 8,500sq.m site added to the development zone. Any archaeological in- vestigations requested during processing would therefore be confined to the footprint of the current proposal, potentially fragmenting the understanding of the area and compromising the context of any discoveries on adjacent land. This position con- trasts with the superintendence's stance just weeks earlier. In a November submission, the SCH reiterated its concerns about the sensitivity of the site, which lies within an archaeolog- ically sensitive zone identified in the South Malta Local Plan. It warned that ground disturbance could uncover heritage features requiring amendments to pro- posed drawings, which suggested a more precautionary approach. Similar warnings were also is- sued in 2021, when the superin- tendence flagged the risk that a proposed access road could pass close to recorded megalithic re- mains. At the time, it cautioned that the development might need to be reconsidered if archaeolog- ical features were uncovered. Architect Tara Cassar, who filed an objection alongside a group of Qrendi residents, has warned that approving plan- ning parameters before con- ducting a holistic archaeological assessment could lead to the "uninformed parcelling" of a po- tentially significant site. Archae- ologist and conservation expert Reuben Grima has also cited his- torical records pointing to pre- historic remains in fields behind the school, calling for a thorough survey before further planning decisions are taken. Vernacular building retained The Superintendence has al- so welcomed the treatment of a vernacular structure at the edge of the site. The building, record- ed on the 1911 Survey Sheets, incorporates a niche with a high-relief Madonna framed by a cartouche and surmounted by a cathedral cross, elements the SCH has consistently described as being of evident cultural her- itage value. While earlier plans had earmarked the structure for demolition, revised drawings now indicate that it will be re- tained and restored. The Super- intendence has welcomed this change but stressed that details of its restoration and integration with any future development will only be assessed at the full devel- opment stage. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage is delaying a full archaeological assessment of land behind Qrendi Primary School pending approval of planning parameters for a zoning application Photomontage showing the proposed building height as intended by the developer. So far, a zoning application has been filed to determine what can be developed and where A farmhouse at the edge of the site is now slated for restoration Archaeological assessment for Qrendi site delayed until after zoning approval