Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/637230
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2016 8 News JAMES DEBONO AN undeveloped enclave of 2,590 square metres near Gharghur's urban conservation area has caught the eye of mega-develop- ers GAP Holdings, the develop- ers behind Fort Cambridge and the proposed 40-storey hotel in Tigné, for the construction of seven maisonettes, 21 apart- ments, six penthouses, 43 base- ment garages and a shop. Residents fear that develop- ment in this 'internal area' which was considered off limits for de- velopment, would change the ur- ban fabric of the locality but GAP insists that the development will respect the locality's characteris- tic. MEPA recently suspended the processing of the application presented in August 2015, but is concurrently processing a paral- lel GAP application presented in October which, if approved, would pave the way for the de- velopment of apartments in this land parcel. A MEPA spokesperson con- firmed that the application was suspended following a request by GAP Holdings' architect Stephen Farrugia in view of a pending planning control application. The planning control applica- tion proposes a change in align- ment to create "residential blocks and open space". Any eventual permit has to conform with the approved alignment so "it was deemed ap- propriate by the architect to re- quest the suspension of the other application", the MEPA spokes- person told MaltaToday. Although located within the development zone, residents have expressed concern that the development will continue to ruin the character of the locality, which has already been negatively impacted by the increase in build- ing heights in 2005. A number of properties in the UCA also border on the pro- posed development. Residents expressed concern that the devel- opment will create a four storey high blank wall facing their prop- erties. "This will create a blank wall that will completely destroy the rural and village context of the property," one of the submis- sions to MEPA states. On his part GAP Holdings di- rector Paul Attard insisted that the project is designed to create a new public open space. "This space retains the views onto the Gharghur parish church thus keeping a visual connec- tion to the Urban Conservation area, although the site itself is not within the Gharghur UCA". Attard claims that when taken in context of the "existing, proposed and potential development of the surrounding properties", the proposed development, through the stepping of the upper level, will create a transition effect be- tween the UCA and the rest of the scheme. Moreover according to GAP the proposed design and orientation of the development will eliminate the possibility of erecting blank back yard party walls onto the UCA properties and will ensure respect for residents'privacy. Tourist village proposed for Swieqi's abandoned cow farm JAMES DEBONO NEW plans have been submitted to redevelop an existing abandoned cow farm in the Wied Ghomor Valley in San Gwann into a tourist village spread over 13,000 square metres of land. The development, proposed by Rodrick Fenech, who owns Mensija Real Estate Ltd, is located outside the development zones. Plans seen by MaltaToday include residential units, pools, a chapel, a spa and a pizzeria. The original permit to construct a "cowshed" on an existing farm dates back to September 1975. The built up area occupies 1,300 square metres and part of the building is four storeys high. A previous application proposing 42 maisonettes in the area present- ed by previous owner Raymond Calleja had been turned down by MEPA in 1997. The decision was reconfirmed in 1998 and 2000. The proposal was shot down be- cause the development proposed was outside the development boundaries and is located in a ru- ral conservation area where only development essential to agricul- ture, or which enhances the areas' scenic and ecological nature, can be allowed. The developer had argued that the existing cow farm is a visual eyesore and the development of villas in the vicinity of the farm threatened its legality due to the rule forbidding livestock farms, which lie fewer than 200 metres from residences. The owner even claimed that his own farm located in the valley bed was a threat to the water table and a source of pollution. MEPA rebutted these arguments, insisting that "if the existing build- ing constitutes an eyesore it should be removed and the site reinstated" to its natural state. MEPA also ar- gued that removing a livestock farm should not serve as a pre- text for urban development in the countryside. The developer asked for a recon- sideration of this decision but the decision was confirmed in 1998. Two years later the refusal was confirmed by the Appeals Tribunal. An application presented by Dian Calleja in 2010 was withdrawn. 34 dwellings proposed in Gharghur enclave