Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/630594
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 JANUARY 2016 13 News JAMES DEBONO LABOUR'S TV newsroom set much store on Tuesday by an interview with the Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Author- ity's director for planning, Chris- topher Borg, who shot down an agritourism complex proposed at Marsaskala as a "non-starter" – citing the level of protection enjoyed by the Munxar fields and the scale of the 2,000 square metre development which ex- ceeds planning limitations. But there has been no equal "of- ficial reply" on a 15-villa propos- al at Ta' Cenc, in the immediate vicinity of a Level 1 conservation and IBA (important bird area) that hosts Malta's largest breed- ing colony of Cory's Shearwater and the only colony of European storm petrels outside Filfla. With a 118-room extension to the Ta' Cenc hotel in the pipe- line, MEPA however says the planning directorate's recom- mendation on Ta' Cenc will only be public when a case officer as- sesses the latest proposals. So what about Borg's definite 'no go' on the Munxar agritour- ism project? A spokesperson for MEPA said the director's com- ments were "a reflection of the content that was included in the screening letter which the planning directorate sent to the applicant" – in reference to the reply that developer Rennie Sci- cluna got advising him that his development was not in line with MEPA's rural policy. Ta' Cenc hanging in the balance Like Ta' Cenc, Marsaskala's Munxar coast is also a special area of conservation. Scicluna wants eight guest rooms and var- ious hotel amenities, as well as a 300 sq.m farm and 1,260 sq.m of guesthouses, all proposed on the buffer zone to the protected coastal area. He also wants a pontoon at one of the coves. When the Ta' Cenc develop- ment was first proposed in 1997, MEPA had not yet introduced its screening letter procedure although it has pronounced it- self on the project in the past. In 2007 it said the project, larger than what is being proposed to- day, was unacceptable because it exposed the bird colonies to light and noise pollution, putting the species at risk. Back in September 2006 MEPA had already ruled out any fur- ther development in the lower part of the plateau near Mgarr ix-Xini, where plans for 15 villas were presented this week. Then chairman Andrew Calleja had told the developers that MEPA agreed with environment minis- ter George Pullicino's interpre- tation that there could be no fur- ther development in the area. And in January 2013, MEPA's environment and planning tri- bunal turned down Borg's appeal to contest the official interpreta- tion on the Gozo local plan for Ta' Cenc. A technicality forced MEPA's review tribunal to hear the case again, after the law courts said the tribunal's judge- ment was invalid. Hotel still threatens bird colonies The latest plans reduce the vil- las overlooking Mgarr ix-Xini from 36 to 15 but includes a 118- room extension to the hotel, to provide luxury suites and a pres- idential suite for upmarket cli- ents. They will include 21 'trullo' rooms, the traditional buildings in the Italian region of Puglia, as the dominant architectural fea- ture. But the downsized Ta' Cenc proposal still threatens bird col- onies with light and noise pol- lution according to its Environ- ment Impact Assessment. "Noise generated by machinery or other man-made (loud music, horns etc.) can result in devastating effects on birds and other biota, such as desertion of colonies," bi- ologists Sandro Lanfranco, Louis Cassar and John J. Borg warned. And tremors propagated through the rock are unlikely to reach the coastal cliffs with "suf- ficient intensity to disturb nest- ing birds". The developers would have to use "advanced noise-reducing technologies" during construc- tion, and careful scheduling of works to avoid months when these are likely to cause the most disturbances to soften the im- pact. "Shearwaters are so susceptible to light that they do not visit the colonies on moonlit nights," the biologists said of the light pollu- tion that can deprive the birds of sleep, citing studies showing how breeding sites were desert- ed when electricity was installed close to colonies. This already occurred in Xlen- di Bay in Gozo and some areas at Hal-Far and Wied Moqbol, and more recently in the upper parts of the Blue Grotto area. Using down-lighters, shaded lighting and low-intensity bulbs, and strict limits on light pollu- tions sources "could go some way" to ensure a minimal im- pact. Much of the proposed footprint consists of "derelict agricultural areas" being re-colonised by wild plants. These sites are however situated adjacent to areas with "sensitive receptors of positive conservation significance", in- creasing the possibility of degra- dation of existing habitats from construction spillover. Developer Rennie Scicluna has dream to go back to his agricultural roots JAMES DEBONO THE owner of the Munxar fields in Marsaskala where an agritourism project has already earned the re- buke of environmentalists, has ad- mitted that proposing a pool, beauty salon and a pontoon for cruise ten- ders gave off the impression that the project is more akin to a hotel than an agritourism facility. Rennie Scicluna, who runs a fal- conry centre in Siggiewi, has com- mitted himself to abide by MEPA's rural policy to remove the hotel amenities of his 2,000 square me- tre agritourism complex – singling out the pool and the beauty salon as amenities which can be eliminated. Scicluna has told MaltaToday that the idea of a pontoon in one of the scheduled coves – which omi- nously referred to a beach club in the project development statement – was meant to provide berthing space to "very rich people" vis- iting the agritourism facility by boat. But Scicluna now insists he has no plans for a pontoon and neither does he have any plans to deny public access to any of the beaches. "At first I wanted to include whatever I thought suitable in my dream of a project connecting the sea and the land. But now I realise that I may have gone too far." He was unfazed by a decla- ration by MEPA's director of planning, Christopher Borg, who described the proposal as a non-starter. "If we fine-tune the project to abide more strictly by the policy it can still be approved," Sci- cluna said, defending the inclusion of conference rooms and farm shops as necessary to make the project vi- able. He also i n s i s t e d his project abides by the 2014 rural poli- cy's limits on 400 sq.m de- velopments on buffer zones to are- as of conser- vation, like the Munxar cliffs which enjoy grade three protection. "I am only propos- ing the development of less than 1,000 square metres over an 80,000 square metre area," he says. His complex will consist of eight guest rooms and a restaurant, a semi-basement wine bar, a health and fitness centre and a conference facility and a basement hosting an agro-food processing centre. The second component of the project is a 300 sq.m animal farm and un- derground store, and 1,260 sq.m of greenhouses. Scicluna is not new to controversy: he had started works on the now le- gally-established Siggiewi Falconry Centre without a permit. Now he is keen to emphasise that he wants to abide by policies and laws. He says his falconry centre is an ex- ample of an environmentally friend- ly development which enriches the rural environment. But he admitted having developed part of his Munxar fields as a race- track in the past but insists that any illegalities on the site have been re- moved, even if the MEPA enforce- ment has not yet been lifted. Three pending enforcements remain on site, including one against structures built around an approved gate. "I am doing something for the country. I do not bury my talents in the ground. I use them… my dream is to go back to my roots as a farm- er and dedicate myself to a project where people can see how food is grown," Scicluna said, insisting that his project will be beneficial to the environment. "If the project is approved agricul- ture will bloom again in the area, with tracts presently producing fod- der, being used to grow crops." If Marsaskala is a non- starter, where's MEPA's voice on Ta' Cenc? Maligned agritourism will now have hotel amenities removed Rennie Scicluna, who has built the Malta Falconry Centre in Siggiewi The Ta' Munxar cliffs. Photo: Ray Attard Ta' Cenc hotel overlooks Mgarr ix-Xini