Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/646116
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2016 8 News JAMES DEBONO FANCY living in an agritourism area set on a deer farm, sip some wine from the in-house winery and eat Bambi's tender meat af- ter it has been freshly killed in an adjacent slaughterhouse? It is all being proposed on 88,000 sq.m of land next to the historical Victoria lines. The agritourism operation lo- cated in a single block is being proposed at id-Dwejra in Mgarr, to include 10 rooms for accommo- dation, a breakfast and dining area, a kitchen, a laundry and a lounge area and various amenities includ- ing a deer farm (already existing on site), a slaughterhouse, a pool area, a sizeable dwelling for the deer keeper, an olive press and a winery. The area of 88,000 sq.m pro- posed for the project is designated as one of high landscape value due to its proximity to the Victoria Lines, which span from Fort Madl- iena in the east to the Fomm ir-Rih redoubt on the west passing along the Dwejra lines. The area is in an Area of Eco- logical Importance and accorded Grade 4 protection, which entails fewer restrictions on development than more highly protected sites, subject however to the condition that the natural habitat in such ar- eas is safeguarded. Plans for the new project were proposed by farmer and landscap- ing entrepreneur Emmanuel Cian- tar and include various amenities, such as a 150 sq.m pool area, a 71 sq.m slaughterhouse, a 182 sq.m farm dwelling, a 15 sq.m farm retail outlet, a 200 sq.m winery which will include a wine tasting area, and a 50 sq.m patch for olive oil production facilities. It is being proposed in Mgarr. The plans were presented by ar- chitect Charles Buhagiar, an MP and chairman of the Building In- dustry Consultative Council. The guest rooms, located in a single block, will be shielded by a "green roof" consisting of trees, and parts of the development will be developed underground. The development is being pro- posed on 13,733 sq.m of land of which fewer than 1,000 sq.m will be built up, olive trees will cover 25,603 sq.m, and a 26,621 sq.m area will be used to grow fodder for deer, and 22,585 sq.m will be turned into a vineyard. Presently the area includes an olive grove, an area for the deer to roam and a disused quarry. The application in Dwejra is at the initial stages and the Malta Environment and Planning Au- thority still has to write a screen- ing letter to inform the develop- ers whether the project conforms to existing policies. The current policy regulating agritourism states that any pro- posed building "shall accommo- date seven to 10 guest rooms with ancillary facilities which may in- clude a swimming pool area" and that "the building shall not exceed a total floor space of 400m2". The policy explicitly states that such development can only take place on sites occupying 60 tumuli (67,000 sq.m). But the new policy also allows developers to incorporate other facilities like boutique wineries, horse riding establishments and stables, swimming pools, olive oil production, bee keeping facilities, farm shops and other develop- ments in the same area. Two agritourism projects have already been proposed in Gozo. An agritourism project along Marsalforn road in Xaghra is be- ing proposed by Ta' Mena estates. The proposed development is set to include 10 suites, a free-range area for the Maltese black chick- en, beekeeping facilities and an olive press. Another project has been pro- posed on agricultural land along Triq is-Sarg and Triq il-Horg in Kercem. This project includes 10 rooms, a store and reception area, a pool and a breakfast area. Another application in Malta comes from falconry enthusiast Rennie Scicluna at Munxar, Mar- saskala has presented an applica- tion, which is in a more advanced state. The proposed complex, which has been shot down by environmentalists, will consist of eight guest rooms and a res- taurant, 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 under- ground store, and 1,260 sq.m of greenhouses. Deer farm with its own slaughterhouse, at an all-inclusive agritourism COURT NOTICE The Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals informs that theCivil Court, First Hall ordered the following sales by auction: Date and time Place Items 2 nd March 2016 10.00am – 6/15 Elmo Insurance pro et. noe C3500 vs Daniel Paul Grima 508580M EM One hundred forty nine 149, Triq id-Dejqa, Valletta Televixin AR System, three (3) piece sofa ,sottospecchio, two (2) ceramic statues,two (2) chairs, table and two (2) chairs and other items. 9 th March, 2016 11.00am – 1/16 Charlie Pace et. 398852M vs Joseph Vella et 451969M JGL fifty six (56), Triq George Schembri, Mosta Vehicle of the make Renault Megan with the registration number SJV 629 14 th March, 2016 10.00am – 20/15 Starfruit Limited C17985 vs Briffa Antonio 488381M EM RCC YARD, Triq ic- Cimiterju, Ghaxaq Televisions, DVD's, Picture Frames, Chandeliers, Sofa, Fan, Wardrobes, Chest of Drawers, Computers, Printer, Airconditioners, Heater and other various items and Vehicle of the make Citroen Saxo with registration number FBJ 382. Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar Civil Courts and Tribunals A survey by the Malta Com- munications Authority has revealed that 22% of house- holds are using internet ap- plications like Skype to make local calls, with the majority of respondents saying it is a good substitute to fixed line telephony. The survey, which was lim- ited to residential users, was carried out via telephone in- terviews after respondents were chosen at random. A total of 800 households par- ticipated in this survey. Of 447 who said they fre- quently made international calls, 21% said they used Sky- pe while 59% use the Ten21 service, that connects users to a VoIP (Voiceover Internet Protocol) service. Voice and SMS revenues can fall under pressure from substitution by cheap messag- ing services like WhatsApp – owned by Facebook – which also provides voice calling, as well as Google's Hangouts, Apple's Facetime, and Skype, which is owned by Microsoft. But the MCA survey found only 4% of all households that were considering terminating their fixed line connection during the next 12 months, presumably to use other means of communications such as mobile telephony, confirming that fixed telepho- ny services are still considered to be an important compo- nent of the Maltese house- hold. Interestingly, 77% of house- holds view the mobile phone to be a good substitute for a fixed line. In the 2013 survey, 72% of households held this perception. The MCA survey also found that 58% of GO subscribers and 61% of Melita subscribers have their telephone line con- nection as part of a bundle. In terms of pricing, the ma- jority of respondents perceive landline calls to another lan- dline to be cheap or reason- ably priced. But 69% said that landline calls to the mobile phone are still expensive. In a corresponding survey on bundles, which shows con- sumers are motivated by pric- ing and convenience when buying a package of services, it's the Internet that is consid- ered to be the most important service for households when selecting their bundle. 79% of households with a bundle offer were satisfied or highly satisfied with the ser- vice they receive. But of those who are not quite satisfied, 49% cite fre- quent disconnections, 21% mention billing issues and 10% say customer care is bad. Deer meat would be on offer if the Mgarr agritourism operation is given the green light The proposed project would take up 88,000 square metres of land Cheap internet voice calls on the up