Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/349229
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 JULY 2014 8 News SECONDARY homes include sec- ond properties, possibly bought for other family members or hoarded for future investment. But these also include properties, which are unoffi- cially rented to third parties. The high number of secondary homes in Gozo, especially in re- sorts like Marsalforn and Xlendi, is a strong indication of an underground rent market in Gozo. In Munxar, which includes Xlendi, secondary homes account for a third of all properties. Secondary homes in Munxar even surpass the number of holiday homes, which account for 25% of all properties in this locality. Only 27% of homes in Munxar are permanently occupied while 15% are completely vacant. In Zebbug, which includes Marsal- forn, fewer than one in every five homes is permanently occupied. While 39% of homes are used as holiday homes a substantial 30% are registered as secondary homes. More than a fifth of homes in Gharb and San Lawrenz are also listed in the census as secondary homes. Gozo also has a higher rate of com- pletely vacant properties than Malta. While 18% of Maltese homes are completely vacant, 24% of Gozitan homes are so. The highest percentage of com- pletely vacant properties is found in Victoria, Ghajnsielem and Fontana. 3,190 homes in Gozo are listed as holiday homes and most of these have been built in the past two dec- ades. 26% of all holiday homes in the Maltese islands are found in Gozo while 52% are found in St Paul's Bay and Mellieha. While 52% of Gozitan holiday homes were constructed after 1991 only 30% of holiday homes in north- ern Malta were constructed in the past 20 years. Higher home ownership in Gozo The census also shows that while most Maltese live in apartments, the majority of Gozitans live in larger dwellings. It also shows a higher rate of home ownership in Gozo. While 58% of occupied dwellings in Malta consist of flats and apart- ments, apartments only account for 15% of Gozitan dwellings. 61% of occupied dwellings in Gozo consist of terraced and town houses. Only 32% of Maltese live in similar dwellings. Villas account for 4% of dwellings in Gozo and only 2% of dwellings in Malta. But Malta has a higher percentage of maisonettes (30%) than Gozo (14%). Despite the high rate of vacant properties 30% of Gozo's occupied properties were built between 1991 and 2011. Only 11% were built be- fore 1918. 85% of all Gozitan dwellings are owned freehold. In Malta only 58% of occupied homes are fully owned. Moreover while only 7% of occupied dwellings in Gozo are rented, 21% of properties in Malta are rented. 516 Gozitan dwellings are neither rented nor owned but used free of charge. These account for 4% of properties. JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority (MEPA) has legalised the asphalting of a countryside lane carried out without a permit by the Mellieha local council between Triq Mejjiesa and Triq il-Manikata. MEPA's own Environment Pro- tection Directorate objected to the council's request to sanction the asphalting and widening of the 215- metre long road, which lies on a slope passing through open fields to the residential area of Manikata. The Environment Protection Di- rectorate (EPD) argued that aerial photos taken in 1998 and 2004 dem- onstrate that what used to be a coun- try lane for field access had been widened and covered with concrete, becoming a "formalised road." Enemalta carried out trenching works in the same area in 2007. When the trenching works were being filled in, the local council proceeded to surface the road with concrete. The EPD also called for the re- moval of the asphalt, to have the lane returned to beaten earth. It warned that the development would result in the intensification of traffic in this rural area. The Environment and Planning Commission, which approved the development, justified its decision by arguing that the road eases the traffic flow, and that the area had already been disturbed by trench laying by Enemalta in 2007. It also referred to the clearance given by MEPA's in- ternal Heritage Advisory Committee and by the Transport Authority. MEPA had previously issued an enforcement order against the coun- cil. An appeal was filed in June 2012, with Mellieha council arguing that the road dates back to before 1967, and that asphalting was carried out to control storm water run-off that was carrying debris down into Man- ikata road. MEPA's appeals tribunal said in its judgement that the local council illegally concreted the road, leading to the council applying to have the work sanctioned. A petrol station is being proposed outside development zone on a dis- used field in an area known as ta' Bingjala in Naxxar along Triq is- Salina, which connects Naxxar and Maghtab to the coast road. The development proposed by Ka- lcidon Vella involves the demolition of part of a rubble wall, and the pro- vision of a car wash, a shop, a storage room and a mechanic's service. In April, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) is- sued for public consultation a policy framework to provide a general guid- ance and establish planning param- eters for new fuel service stations or existing ones that are seeking reloca- tion. The policy is proposing that fuel stations should preferably be located in Designated Industrial Areas, SME sites, Areas of Containment, Open Storage Areas, sites already occupied by fuel stations or other areas ear- marked for development that are not designated as Residential and Resi- dential Priority Areas. While the same location criteria would apply in the case of Relocated Fuel Stations, the policy also indi- cates that in such cases land outside areas designated for development committed for non-agricultural uses or disused quarries may also be con- sidered. Additionally, fuel stations will not be permitted within 300m of bore- holes, which should generally be located more than 500m from the nearest fuel station. 46% of Gozo properties occupied MEPA sanctions council's illegal road ODZ petrol station proposed in Naxxar But 17% are put to a secondary use while 18% are completely vacant Gozitan villages with highest % of completely vacant properties Number % Fontana 219 35.7 Victoria 1,158 32.1 Ghajnsielem 584 28.3 Qala 448 29.4 Nadur 776 27.8 All Gozo 5,996 23.9 Malta* 41,232 18.4 * excluding Gozo Gozitan villages with highest % of 'secondary homes' Number % Munxar* 483 32.7 Ghasri 119 32.2 Zebbug** 1,242 29.8 San Lawrenz 120 23.4 Gharb 197 19.8 All Gozo 4,254 17 Malta 13,427 6.8 *Munxar includes Xlendi **Zebbug includes Marsalforn Gozitan villages with highest % of holiday homes Number % Zebbug 1,603 38.4 Munxar 376 25.5 San Lawrenz 57 11 Qala 163 10.7 Nadur 153 10.4 All Gozo 3,190 12.7 Malta 8,977 4.5 Only 46% of Gozitan properties were occupied in 2011 according to the national census. While 24% were completely vacant and 13% used as holiday homes, a substantial 17% of homes in Gozo were being put to a secondary use. Only 7% of properties in Malta are used for a secondary purpose, although the percentage rises to 22% in Sliema.