Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/584253
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2015 8 News JAMES DEBONO THE Foundation for Tomorrow Schools has formally applied to build a new school on land in Tal- Wileg in St Paul's Bay, which had been previously earmarked for the expansion of the nearby Salini Park. The application was presented to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority on Tuesday. The development is set to take place on 7,900 square metre site located outside development boundaries in areas designated as buffer zone for a nearby Natura 2000 site. The development is set to in- clude car-parking facilities, a play area, a badminton pitch and a volleyball pitch. Entrance to the new school will be from Triq JF Kennedy. The school will be located in an area close to the Salini park, identified by the previous admin- istration as a 7,000 square metre extension to the national park opened in 2008. An application to extend the park, which was already on the MEPA board's agenda, was dropped in February 2014. The new school is required because the current one is considered too small for St Paul Bay's growing population. Since 2005, the population in St Paul's Bay has grown by 23%, making the locality the third most populated in Malta, behind only Birkirkara and Mosta. Last year a government spokes- person had told MaltaToday that the decision to locate the school in this area was taken after "vari- ous options" were considered. It is not clear whether the gov- ernment has ever considered us- ing a plot of land previously be- longing to GO Plc, which has been earmarked for a car park. On that occasion the govern- ment also quelled speculation that it intends to sell the present school, set in an idyllic location on the coastline. According to a spokesperson, the development of the new school is intended to be "an additional school to the existing one". Residents who own houses op- posite the park had collected a petition against the development. They also warned that continu- ous exposure to electro-magnetic fields from Enemalta's electricity distribution centre could pose a danger to school children. But according to a government spokesperson, the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools (FTS) has already assessed the impact of possible EMF exposures from the distribution centre located in the area with the results showing they are "below the maximum cri- teria". The present school in St Paul's Bay Primary School was inaugu- rated in 1956 to meet the educa- tional needs of the children of a small fishing settlement and its satellite hamlets. The school is now catering for the ever-sprawling settlements of St Paul's Bay, Bugibba and Qawra. What was once a summer sea- side resort has now changed into a popular residential area attracting people from other places all over the island. With the influx of for- eign people settling in Malta, St Paul's Bay's primary has attracted a marked proportion of students of a foreign origin. Today the school's population hovers around the 800 mark, with around 80 students coming from 20 different countries. The intake of students now contains marked characteristic of cultural, religious and social diversity. In recent years two ODZ schools were constructed: a 22,830 sq. m. facility at Ta' Zokrija (Mosta), and another school with a site area of 15,940 sq. m. at Ta' Karwija (Kirkop). The Dominican order has also applied to relocate St Al- bert College to a massive 77,000 square meter ODZ area in Ghax- aq, which has been designated for school development in the local plan. JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Planning Authority has overruled the advice of the newly set-up Ag- ricultural Advisory Committee, as well as the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, the Environ- ment Protection Directorate and its own Planning Directorate, to approve the regularisation of an illegally built 90-square metre store. Anthony Bonavia, who was rep- resented by architect and govern- ment advisor Robert Musumeci, presented the application. The store was built as an exten- sion to an adjacent farmhouse before 1994 and is located im- mediately below the fortified city of Mdina, highly visible from Il- Pjazza tas-Sur. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage objected to the de- velopment arguing that the site was archeologically sensitive and likely to contain archaeological features and remains. The building was subject to an enforcement order dating back to 1994. The Agricultural Advisory Com- mittee, set up specifically to assess "the genuine need" for any agri- cultural development proposed outside development zones, ob- jected to the development, noting that there were other rooms and buildings within the applicant's holdings which can be used as stores. It also objected because the building was located within an ar- ea scheduled for its archaeological importance. The Environment Protection Di- rectorate had also objected to the sanctioning, arguing that this led to the pav- ing of an area in front of the building. MEPA had turned down previous applica- tions to regularise the building as an extension to the farmhouse in 2005. In 2010, MEPA's appeals tribunal con- firmed the decision. It was only in 2010 that the owner decided to apply under the pretext that the building was an agricul- tural store – and not an extension to the original farmhouse. But the application was withdrawn. But the new Rural Policy and Design Guidelines allow MEPA to regularise illegal stores built before 1994. The building conformed to this policy, as it was visible in aerial photos dating back to 1994. But the same policy states that in such cases the Agricultural Advisory Committee should be consulted. The AAC remained of the opin- ion that there was no genuine agricultural need for this develop- ment, despite a signed declaration by the applicant that he lacked any facility to store agricultural imple- ments. The case officer recommending a refusal of the sanctioning also pointed out that although the ap- plicant is a registered farmer tilling 56 tumuli of land, "an agricultural store with a footprint of 90 square metres" was considered excessive. The development was also deemed to be in violation of the Strategic Plan for the Environ- ment and Development (SPED), which protects rural areas from any development, which adversely affects the scenic value of an area. The development was also deemed to have a negative impact on Mdina, an important archaeo- logical site. The Environment Planning Commission, chaired by architect Elisabeth Ellul justified overturn- ing the recommendation of the case officer by arguing that the building is visible in aerial pho- tos taken in 1994 and therefore eligible for sanctioning according to the new rural design guidelines approved in 2014. The architect was asked to sub- mit a fresh drawing to include an unrendered 100mm-thick 'franka' weather-stone skin on the façade, to minimize the visual impact. +1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05ŏŏ !-1!/0ŏ"+.ŏ1+00%+* ŏ 2!.0ŏ+ċŏāĈĉĥĂĀāĆŏĢŏ1+00%+*ŏ"+.ŏ,#. %*#ŏ+"ŏ%"0ŏ0ŏāĉČŏ .%-ŏ%(ġ +**ŏ(ġ.66&Čŏ+.)(ŏĨ!"ċŏŏāăĥĂĀāĆĩċŏŏ ŏ)!!0%*#ŏ+*ŏ/%0!ŏ/$((ŏ!ŏ..%! ŏ+*ŏāĂ0$ŏ0+!.ŏĂĀāĆŏ0ŏĊċĀĀ)ċ û!./ŏ(+/!ŏ+*ŏĂā/0ŏ0+!.ŏĂĀāĆČŏ0ŏāĀċĀĀ$./ċ ŏ (!/!ŏ!//ŏ0$!ŏ-1+00%+*ŏ +1)!*0ŏ".+)ŏ333ċ$+1/%*#10$+.%05ċ#+2ċ)0ċ MEPA snubs heritage watchdogs to approve Mdina store ODZ location for St Paul's Bay primary school confirmed The illegal structure regularised by MEPA is highly visible from Mdina The area earmarked for development