Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/619227
6 JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Planning Authority has issued a permit for the demolition and reconstruction of a partly col- lapsed "agricultural store" to an applicant who had the same ap- plication refused three times be- fore on a site with a long history of planning infringements. In fact a fine for an enforce- ment carried out by MEPA in 2010 when "truckloads" of con- struction waste were removed from the site was still unpaid when MEPA issued the permit last week. The latest permit specifies that the bill has to be paid before works can start on site. Il-Hofra ta' Wied Behir in Qrendi is an area designated for its high landscape value and forms part of a buffer zone to an Area of Ecological Importance. The site, which overlooks Ghar Lapsi, has some of the most at- tractive panoramic views in Malta. The permit was found accept- able because it involved the reconstruction of a 45 square metre store built before 1978 over the same footprint. An ad- ditional basement is also being included. The case officer argued that this was permissible accord- ing to the new policy governing ODZ development. This was the fourth attempt by owner Mark Formosa to regularise the development. The permit had been turned down twice in the past by the Environment Planning Com- mission first in 2010 and then in 2011, and the latest decision was confirmed by the Envi- ronment and Planning Review Tribunal following an appeal by Formosa. MEPA had also objected to regularise an illegally con- structed reservoir because the applicant was not a registered farmer. In representations submit- ted to the appeals tribunal the law yer representing MEPA noted that the rubble walls on the site were built in breach of the law as these were built using limestone and concrete. The reconstruction of the room was deemed unacceptable in a "scheduled site" and because the applicant was not a regis- tered farmer. MEPA had also denounced the illegal uprooting of a carob tree while the owner claimed it was only pruned. In its decision the Appeals tri- bunal confirmed that material from outside the site had been used to change the topography of the site. It also upheld the argu- ment that no development could be regularised on the site and proposed a compromise through which the developer would ac- cept to remove all illegalities on site, reinstate the site levels and then rebuild the two rooms and regularise the reservoirs. The tribunal also insisted that if ever rebuilt the store had to be used exclusively for agricultural use. The EPD notes that works car- ried out on site and the proposed development are of "significant environmental concern". The directorate claimed that aerial photos showed that the site "has been radically transformed" and have been more extensive than those permitted in previous per- mits. The works included extensive changes to site levels, unneces- sary removal of soil and uproot- ing of trees and the construction of non-traditional rubble walls. But the developer replied that these works had been approved in a permit issued in 2001, which included a permit for the re- planting of some trees which had been removed. Moreover an illegal room sub- ject to an enforcement action had now been removed. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 DECEMBER 2015 News 6 WORKSHOPS ON ONLINE SUBMISSION OF TENDERS FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN GOZO The Ministry for Gozo in conjunction with the Department of Contracts will be organising two workshops in Gozo on the electronic Public Procurement System for economic operators. The workshops will give an opportunity to those attending to familiarise themselves with compiling and submitting their bids online. The workshops will be free of charge and will be held on Friday 8 th January 2016 and Friday 15 th January 2016 between 9:00am and 1:00pm. Interested economic operators are kindly requested to apply by e- mail on procurement.mgoz@gov.mt or by phoning on 2210 0266 between 8:00am and 2:00pm by not later than Monday 28 th December 2015. Council demands protection for Tigné officers' mess JAMES DEBONO THE Sliema local council has written to the Malta Environ- ment and Planning Authority (MEPA), demanding the inclu- sion of the Tigné officers' mess, the only remaining part of the barracks, in the list of protected historical buildings. The site is now earmarked for a 40-storey hotel. GAP holdings, which have presented the hotel application, want to retain the façade of the building and build 40 storeys on it. The new policy regulating the heights of hotels allows four- and five-star hotels to add any number of storeys over and above the number allowed in the Local Plan, as long as the resulting de- sign "constitutes a landmark hav- ing unique aesthetic characteris- tics within the urban context". But the new policy on hotel heights does not apply to devel- opment on "scheduled sites" like historical buildings, such as the former military barracks – which were part of Fort Cambridge – if the then officers' mess were to be scheduled. Although the former offic- ers' mess is not yet a scheduled building, a MEPA spokesperson recently confirmed that the site "has been proposed by MEPA for grade two protection". Such a designation would only permit internal alterations and the re- moval of more recent accretions. Effectively such a designation would not allow the application of the new hotel heights policy on this site. The building, which dates back to the early 20th century, once formed part of the Tigné Barracks complex which had its origins in the latter half of the 1800s. Today it is the only completely preserved remnant of this mili- tary compound. "Though various non-historic internal alterations were carried out over the years, it is still be- lieved that much of the fabric is of significant quality, meriting further study and preservation". According to the council its ar- chitectural, military and social history are clearly evident and worthy of recognition. The council is also calling on MEPA to designate "a suitable buffer zone around the building so that its context is still legible". MEPA's own Fort Cambridge Development Brief approved in January 2006, describes the bar- racks as a "landmark building" which is to be retained due to its historical and architectural im- portance" which should remain a buffer between new higher devel- opment on the site and the sur- rounding residential blocks. "No additional floors over the third floor will be allowed over this landmark building," the brief states. According to Sliema Green Par- ty councillor Michael Briguglio this is reason enough why a sky- scraper on this site should not be allowed. "The 2006 local plan makes it clear that the maximum build- ing height for the former mili- tary barracks should be retained at the existing four floors… This reason alone should have imme- diately led to a disqualification of the proposed skyscraper." But MEPA has confirmed that the development will not be as- sessed on the basis of the brief but on new policies regulating build- ing heights approved in 2014. According to Paul Attard, direc- tor of GAP Holdings, the effect of the hotel tower on the landscape has to be seen in the context that the Tigné peninsula has been ear- marked as a high-rise area in the recently approved policy regulat- ing building heights. "Therefore, more high rise buildings are expected to comple- ment one another," Attard said. Qrendi: Permit granted after three refusals Remnant of a military compound, being considered for scheduling