Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/659044
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2016 7 News 75 square metre room allowed in 'area of high landscape value' JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Planning Authority has ap- proved the construction of an agricultural store over a 75 square metre footprint in an area of 'high landscape value' in Faw wara in Siggiewi on the pre- text that the structure already existed prior to 1978. The area is also designated as a protected buffer zone for an area of eco- logical importance. The new "store" proposed by owner Gaetano Spiteri will be surrounded by an area paved by grass blocks and will include a ground f loor, a basement, and an access gate. The "store" will be surrounded by a 1.94 metre high rubble wall which was built illegally and which has now been sanctioned. But an aerial photo dating back to 1994 clearly shows that the room had already been demol- ished and had ceased to exist. The only surviving structures are two small timber rooms and a concrete slab which will now be demolished. Although the Planning Direc- torate concluded that the new store is eligible for sanction- ing according to the new rural policy, which enables the re- construction of structures built before 1978, it still objected to the development because of an extensive area paved by grass blocks on compacted earth. The size of the paved area was reduced but the Planning Direc- torate still felt it was unjustified. The Directorate also objected to the proposed 1.94 metre high rubble wall, which was also ap- proved. Din l-Art Helwa objected, not- ing that had the owner not ap- plied on the pretext of rebuild- ing a long demolished building, he would not have been per- mitted to build an agricultural store, according to the same rural policy which only allows owners of more than four tu- moli of land to build stores. The Agricultural Advisory Commit- tee was not consulted by MEPA in the processing of the applica- tion. MEPA in 2010 had refused an application for the construction of an agricultural room a few metres away from the site. JAMES DEBONO GUDJA council has approved a motion expressing concern about a tourist development proposed by the owner of an irregular res- taurant at Dawret il-Gudja, an agricultural area in the vicinity of the Bir Miftuh chapel (above). The motion proposed by PN councillor Mark Anthony Sam- mut was approved with the ab- stention of Gudja's Labour mayor, John Mary Calleja, and deputy mayor Romeo Baldacchino. Both cited a conf lict of interest due to family connections with those in- volved in the project. PL councillor Demelsa Grech and PN councillor Stefan Caru- ana supported Sammut's motion. "This zone serves as an open space opposite the buildings in the vicinity. Development in this area could reduce this space con- siderably, thus resulting in envi- ronmental degradation," accord- ing to the motion. The council also expressed its concern that this development could increase parking problems in the locality. Anton Scicluna, owner of the restaurant which, according to him, caters only for private functions, is seeking the Malta Environment and Planning Au- thority's green light to designate guidelines for a 'tourism develop- ment' he wants built in the sur- rounding fields which he has at Dawret il-Gudja. Scicluna's plans envision a mixed-use commercial building, which includes "touristic orient- ed activities" over two f loors, and a semi-basement on part of the site. 40% of the site will be kept undeveloped. The application refers to the de- velopment of a Class 3A develop- ment (guesthouses) and 3C devel- opment (leisure activities such as gyms and theatres). The develop- ment would also include a picnic area and a parking area. In 2012, MEPA had issued an enforcement notice against the illegal use of a farmhouse as a restaurant. The owners deny that that the farmhouse is being used as a restaurant, insisting that they use it only for private func- tions. MaltaToday is informed that some of the tenant farmers are objecting to the project, which would be located on church land transferred to the state under the church state agreement. The land itself, in the vicin- ity of the Bir Miftuh chapel, was included in the extension of the development boundaries of 2006, introduced by the Nationalist ad- ministration. But the area is still designated as a strategic open gap where development is restricted in the local plans. MEPA still has to issue parameters for develop- ment in the area and the applica- tion presented by Scicluna seeks to zone this area for tourist devel- opment. Gudja council objects to development on agricultural land