Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545750
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 JULY 2026 NEWS Illegal Armier villa still standing as demolition works halted THE illegal villa that was sup- posed to have been demolished in Armier is still relatively intact, MaltaToday has learnt. No demolition works have taken place since 16 June when workers began demolishing the illegal building, according to the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU). The NGO was the first to bring the villa's audacious construction to nationwide at- tention last month. MRU con- ducts daily patrols in the Armi- er area. A photo of the site taken on 1 July shows the villa in the same condition it was in when dem- olition works began. The illegal development be- longs to Franklin Mangion of Żurrieq, a minority sharehold- er in Solitaire Property Ltd, a property development com- pany currently in dissolution. Mangion is also the sole share- holder of Admin Services Ltd, a Mellieħa-based company that provides condominium admin- istration services. The MRU first reported the illegal works to the Planning Authority days before the gen- eral election on 30 May. At the time, the works consisted only of pallets and concrete blocks deposited on site. The MRU filed several other reports over the next few weeks. The NGO then released im- ages showing that over a two- week period the site rapidly developed into a villa with plas- tered side walls and a ceiling. The rangers filed several oth- er reports with the PA. The au- thority confronted the contra- vener and informed him that he had 16 days to restore the site to its original state, issuing an enforcement order. Public outrage followed when MRU went public with photo- graphic evidence, showing the developer's complete disregard of the enforcement order. On 16 June, the demolition of the building started but the MRU says this was the only time such works were carried out and the villa remains una- shamedly relatively intact. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt The site earlier in June when the owner started pulling down the illegal villa (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) 13-room guesthouse overlooking Munxar valley set for approval THE Planning Authority is set to approve the conversion of two residential properties in Munxar into a 13-room guesthouse, de- spite the site's location within a protected valley landscape and objections over its environmen- tal impact. Application PA/07274/24, submitted by Glorianne Camilleri, proposes the con- version of two dwellings at 4, Triq ix-Xlendi into a guest- house. The project includes the excavation of a basement for a swimming pool and reservoir, alterations to a pre-1967 ver- nacular building, and the con- struction of additional rooms at first-floor and receded roof levels. Photomontages suggest that the new building will be stepped and terraced thus mit- igating the increase in massing. The development is proposed within an Outside Develop- ment Zone (ODZ) Category 2 Rural Settlement and lies inside the Xlendi–Wied tal-Kantra Natura 2000 site, a designated Special Area of Conservation. It also falls within the Wied ix-Xlendi Area of High Land- scape Value and serves as a buffer zone to a Level 1 ecolog- ical area. The Environment and Re- sources Authority (ERA) ini- tially raised concerns about the proposal but withdrew its ob- jection after the applicant re- vised the plans to relocate the underground reservoir further inland, away from the valley ridge. The authority nevertheless imposed a series of environ- mental safeguards, requiring that excavation and trenching avoid damage to trees and their root systems, that machin- ery, vehicles and construction materials remain confined to existing road carriageways to prevent encroachment onto the surrounding landscape, and that any disturbed land be restored to its original condi- tion immediately after works are completed. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) also raised no objection, subject to conditions requiring the pres- ervation of the building's his- toric fabric, including its dou- ble-thickness masonry walls, stone arches and timber beams. Heritage monitoring will al- so be required throughout the works. According to the case of- ficer, the proposal complies with planning policy, with the stepped and terraced rear ele- vation reducing its visual im- pact when viewed from the valley. Environmental NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa objected to the ap- plication, arguing that it would increase the building's foot- print by around 60sq.m beyond the existing committed devel- opment and require the remov- al of mature trees. The NGO also raised concerns over the cumulative impact of further tourism development within the protected valley landscape. The proposed guesthouse will require four parking spaces under planning policy, based on its 13 guest rooms and four employees. As no on-site park- ing is being provided, the appli- cant will instead pay a €17,000 contribution to the Urban Im- provement Fund. Other proposed permit con- ditions include a €2,300 bank guarantee to ensure heritage monitoring and a requirement that the building's external façades be retained or finished in traditional unrendered local stone. The application will now be decided by the Planning Au- thority on 15 July. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt