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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JANUARY 2016 12 News JAMES DEBONO THE Government Property De- partment has issued its consent to Yana Mintoff Bland, daughter of the late prime minister, in connec- tion with a request to convert into a dwelling a derelict farmhouse on land in Delimara which the family has been renting. Mintoff Bland has denied intend- ing to sell the property at Xrobb l- Ghagin, which commands breath- taking views of Delimara, saying she does not own the land. "It is not even mine. So how can I sell it? The property is in total disre- pair and we simply want to restore it and render it habitable," she told MaltaToday. The family had been paying rent for this property on the govern- ment-owned land for the past dec- ades. The land was the site of the former Deutsche Welle station. Describing herself as an "environ- mentalist", Mintoff Bland insisted that the land will remain under public ownership and that she has no intention of increasing the foot- print of the existing building. A MEPA case officer's report has recommended approval for the re- generation of the farmhouse into a dwelling. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority normally re- quires proof that rural structures lying outside development zones (ODZ), were formerly used as residences before approving a change in use. In this case MEPA resurrected an expired permit issued in April 2003 to justify the conversion. Mintoff Bland told this news- paper the farmhouse was used "on and off" in the past but was structurally unfit to be inhabited. A report by the MEPA case of- ficer states that the property was "previously used by the Deutsche Welle" radio station. The 2003 permit to demolish the farmhouse and build a dwell- ing was originally issued as part of compensation to Dom Mintoff as stipulated in an agreement in 2002 about the encroachment of the Delimara power station on his farmhouse. The development was never carried out and the permit expired. Mintoff Bland said that the new application was not connected to this compensation agreement and that it retains the same footprint as the present derelict building. Environmental directorate's objections MEPA's Environment Protec- tion Directorate is objecting to the permit, insisting that residences should not be allowed in this area, but MEPA's case officer is insisting that the residential use has been es- tablished through the expired 2003 permit. The EPD warned that the intro- duction of a "fully-fledged dwelling would undermine the rural charac- teristics of the area" leading to the "urbanization of an ODZ area." The EPD also warned of piece- meal additions once the residential use is established and consolidated. Under MEPA's rural develop- ment policy, farmhouses can only be developed into dwellings if these predate 1978 and their use as a resi- dence was "legally established". Mintoff Bland's application is deemed acceptable because it is lim- ited to the site of the present build- ing and does not take any new land. The present building is set over 100 square metres of land and occupies a floorspace of 168 square metres. Part of the building, formerly used as a kennel, will be transformed into a domestic store. Expired permits carry no legal validity The permit issued in 2003 was for a floorspace of 225 sq.m in the vicinity of this property, in the con- text of the "out of court settlement" with Dom Mintoff's dispute with the government on the location of the power station. The permit was not issued to Mintoff himself but to the govern- ment. The permit expired after five years and no works were ever conducted. But while the 2003 permit has lost any legal validity, it is now being in- voked by MEPA to fulfill the obliga- tions of the rural policy. Planning experts consulted by this newspaper expressed doubts on whether an expired permit carries any legal validity. "If the original permit established the use and the permit was never used, then such a use is lost and cannot be used in the new application." MEPA's Environment Planning Commission will decide on this ap- plication on 12 February. How the farmhouse was offered as compensation After the construction of the Delimara power station, which overshadowed Dom Mintoff's fa- bled countryside retreat, the Sant government in 1998 compensated the Mintoffs with land and a house at Fawwara, valued at Lm230,000 (€535,000 at today's exchange rate), at its own expense, apart from Lm128,000 (€298,000) for dam- ages. The Mintoffs would however transfer their house at Delimara to the government. But this agree- ment fell through and discussions were then entered over another plot of land in Delimara. In 2002 the government agreed to allow Mintoff to retain his property and instead apply for a develop- ment permit for the land at Xrobb l-Ghagin to construct a new build- ing at the government's expense. The Mintoffs would then purchase the building at market price, which would be set off against the com- pensation for damages due to the Mintoffs. However, the agreement did not list the compensation due to the Mintoffs or the value of the build- ing. The agreement also stipulated that the government was to pay the Mintoffs Lm80,000 by way of com- pensation for inconvenience. Subsequently the government ap- plied for a permit in Xrobb l-Ghagin which envisioned the demolition of the existing farmhouse and a new building over a larger footprint. This per- mit was issued in 2003. In 2004, the Constitu- tional Court concluded that Mintoff's original house in Delimara had "lost any subjective value for the Mintoffs" and that Mintoff's human rights had been violated, order- ing the sum of €830,000 in compensation. While the 2002 agree- ment became "null and void" since the govern- ment had not authorized the development of the new house, all amounts paid to the Mintoffs were deducted from the dam- ages payable. Mintoff ap- pealed pressing for a higher com- pensation. In his appeal, Mintoff no longer demanded an alternative residence but higher damages; the govern- ment asked the courts to lower the amount awarded. After his death, the Mintoffs sold the Delimara residence (l-Gharix) for €250,000 – substantially less than the compensation amount awarded. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Victor Axiak appointed chairman of environment authority THE new environment and re- sources authority (ERA) that will serve as the second authority in the newly de-merged Malta Environ- ment and Planning Authority, will be headed by Prof. Victor Axiak, the former chair of the Church's environment commission. Prof. Axiak has been a vocal critic of government policies in the fields of environment and land use. In 2014, he was appointed by the government as chair of a scientific consultative committee on the en- vironment. The ERA's vice chairperson and social policy officer will be Car- men Buttigieg. The representative for NGOs on the ERA board will be Prof. Alan Deidun, the noted biologist and environmental journalist. Other board members will be Alan Pulis, Prof. Alfred Vella, Dr Jason Bonnici, ar- chitect Ruben Abela, Dr Lou- ise Spiteri, Alexia Pisani, and Prof. Maria Attard as a repre- sentative of the Opposition. Under the new regime, which sees MEPA's planning and environment arms sepa- rated, all planning policies will be drafted by an Executive Council, while the Planning Board will is- sue permits. The Executive Council will also be responsible for the administra- tion of the authority, institutional- ising a strengthening of the CEO's office after the appointment of Jo- hann Buttigieg. The Executive Council will be composed of an executive chair- man, appointed by the govern- ment; the chairman and deputy chairman of the Planning Board who are also appointed by the gov- ernment; and two members versed in matters related to building construction, health and safety or building services who are also appointed by the government. It will also in- clude two members appointed by the ERA. The ERA will now have a right to appeal against deci- sions of the Planning Board in front of the newly set up Re- view Tribunal. It remains to be seen whether the physical divorce between the plan- ning and environment authority will result in more or less consul- tation between the planning and environment divisions. While presently the Environment Protection Directorate is directly consulted on every application from the start to the end of the process, it is not clear whether this will be the case in the new plan- ning structures, especially in view of the fact that the way permits are issued still has to be determined by a legal notice. It remains to be seen how the ERA will scrutinise applications requiring the full planning proce- dure. While it will have a right to appeal against decisions taken by the Planning Board in front of a re- view tribunal whose members are also chosen by the government, it may lose its power to influence planning applications in their in- fancy. Beat that for natural beauty: the view from Delimara (below) and (above) the derelict farmhouse to be converted Expired permit wins MEPA approval for house renovation on Delimara land Mintoffs rent Victor Axiak