Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/396532
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2014 8 News JAMES DEBONO THE removal of a heights ban on a particular land parcel in Ghaxaq, has led the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to issue a permit for six penthouses in the 'Tal-Mil- lieri' residential block, owned by P & J.C. Co. Ltd – whose shareholder includes the former Lorry Sant aide, Piju Camilleri. The planning application was sub- mitted by director Ludwig Camilleri, who was represented in MEPA hear- ings by architect Charles Buhagiar, the Labour MP and chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council. No penthouses were allowed on this site after this parcel of land was included in an extension of develop- ment zones by the previous adminis- tration in 2006. But the blanket ban on penthouses was removed by the MEPA board in July following a public consultation, during which the Ghaxaq council objected to the heights level allowing for penthouses. After Camilleri's land was con- troversially included in the 2006 rationalisation, his company sought a permit for 48 residential units on the former agricultural area, includ- ing 47 basement and semi-basement garages, and two shops. The 2006 local plan permitted three-storey and penthouse develop- ment in this particular area of Ghax- aq, a village until then characterised by two-storey dwellings. But under the rationalization exercise, the 2006 Cabinet criteria restricted heights in these formerly 'outside-develop- ment-zones' to be lower than that of neighbouring properties, to soften the impact on the edge of the devel- opment zone edge. And in October 2008, the minister for planning wrote to MEPA recom- mending a two-storey limit on sites added to development boundaries through the rationalization exercise: this policy was adopted by the MEPA board and applied to all sites affected by the rationalization exercise. Indeed, in November 2008 MEPA proposed a two-floor limit on the land owned by Camilleri. But follow- ing protests by the owner, this was revised to three floors, with a clause introduced to ensure that no pent- houses be developed on this site. In this way, the development would still be lower than adjacent buildings, as suggested in the policy direction giv- en by the previous government. Change of policy in 2013 In December 2009, Camilleri filed a court case against MEPA claiming that the policy against penthouse development on his property was "abusive and discriminatory", which he later dropped in September 2013 when an agreement between the two parties was reached. In January 2014, a public consulta- tion was initiated to change the poli- cy again to allow the development of penthouses on the same site. A case officer's report on the pro- posed policy change states that over the past few years, MEPA has "con- sistently applied" the board's direc- tion that new buildings on formerly ODZ plots included in the 2006 development boundaries, be of the same height as neighbouring build- ings, or lower. But the same report concludes that the application to allow penthouses on Camilleri's land should be as- sessed on "its own merits" and be based on the present government's decision to allow penthouses in this area. The report also refers to an objec- tor's submission, who claimed the relaxation of building heights dis- criminated against other Ghaxaq property owners. The objector de- manded MEPA to state whether the new policy signified a change in poli- cy for all 2006 rationalisation sites. The MEPA board approved the new policy on July 3, and a permit for six new penthouses issued two weeks ago. Camilleri is presently contesting a newly issued MEPA policy that bans ODZ cemeteries, due to his interest in building a cemetery on land be- tween Attard and Rabat. The policy regulating the extension of existing cemeteries is expected to be ap- proved in the next weeks. Camilleri has also applied for the construction of an ODZ petrol station at Is-Salini along the coast road. As a 'works manager' with the late Lorry Sant during the 1980s, Camill- eri was an influential figure within the Planning Areas Permits Board, the body that issued building per- mits, and the precursor to the formal planning regime of MEPA. Accord- ing to businessman Joe Borg's testi- mony before the Permanent Com- mission against Corruption presided by Mr Justice Victor Borg Costanzi, Camilleri, with Sant's blessing, used to request plots of land and money in return for granting building permits to individual contractors. After court case, MEPA tweaks Ghaxaq height limits and Piju Camilleri gets six penthouses Lidl gets play area, outside development zone JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority's environment plan- ning commission has ignored the advice of its own case officer in ap- proving a new playing ground next to the Lidl supermarket in Xewkija, for use by Lidl customers. The permit was only approved on Wednesday through the casting vote of board chairperson Elizabeth Ellul after a tie. The main attraction of the new de- velopment is a 3.8-metre high wood- en playhouse located at the centre of a paved playground. The case officer had made it clear that the development could not be approved because the facility was lo- cated in an ODZ urban conservation area and will lead to the take up of more land. The case officer also recalled that when approving the Xewkija su- permarket MEPA was very careful in avoiding any encroachment on ODZ. The case officer insisted that the supermarket was only approved be- cause it was restricted to the devel- opment zone. "Thus the current proposal goes beyond the principle which had a main bearing in granting the permit for the supermarket," the case officer argued in his report. The justification given by the board to ignore the case officer's recom- mendation was that the structure will be reversible and although de- veloped the area shall remain open with no building on it. The supermarket at the back of an existing petrol station on Mgarr Road was approved by MEPA in February 2013. Environmentalists had ob- jected to the development because originally 30% of the site lay outside the develop- ment scheme. Subsequently the super- market and the car park were located within development zones. A retail impact assessment anticipated a €1.81 mil- lion diversion in trade from convenience stores selling foodstuffs in Victoria, and another €3.17 million diver- sion from convenience stores elsewhere in Gozo. After reaching 2013 agreement with MEPA to drop court case, former Lorry Sant henchman Piju Camilleri gets permit for six penthouses in tweaked MEPA policy for Ghaxaq The removal by a MEPA board of the heights ban on a parcel of land in Ghaxaq has made it possible to allow six penthouses on a residential block