Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/698019
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JUNE 2016 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA Santa Lucija council voted for ODZ residential home JAMES DEBONO THE Labour-led Santa Lucija lo- cal council has given its blessing to a proposed complex for the elderly on land outside development zones (ODZ) after the Planning Authority asked it to send its submissions on the matter by 29 June. The five-storey home for the elder- ly is being proposed near the Santa Lucija secondary school. A vote was taken on Monday dur- ing which the three PL councillors, including the mayor, voted in favour while the two PN councillors voted against the proposed development. A decision on the proposed devel- opment still has to be taken by the Planning Authority. The neighbouring Labour-led Luqa council had already declared its opposition to this development last year. The three Labour councillors vot- ing in favour of the development qualified their vote, insisting that they would not agree with any other development taking place in the area. Councillor and former mayor Frederick Cutajar insisted that the site in question is in an area known as Bir Miftuh, which is adjacent to but not part of the area known as Wied Garnaw. Cutajar also said he deems the de- velopment acceptable as the site is next to a main road and not in the middle of the valley. During the meeting minority lead- er Liam Sciberras referred to the fact that Malta has 55,000 vacant prem- ises and that Malta is the most over- developed country in Europe. "We cannot continue developing what remains as undeveloped". While insisting that he is not against the idea of a new retirement home the location on ODZ land could set an urban sprawl in the countryside. He also questioned the benefits of an old people's home located on the periphery of the town, thus cutting off the elderly from the centre of the locality. Sciberras warned that this devel- opment could result in ecological degradation of the nearby Garnaw valley and will result in more park- ing problems for the surrounding residential homes. He also ques- tioned why a site within the develop- ment zone was not found to accom- modate the development. A report, which concluded that no alternative site was found in the ur- ban area, was submitted to MEPA in October 2015. The report included a screening for sites based on environmental and planning considerations and a financial Cost Benefit Analysis un- dertaken by PricewaterhouseCoop- ers. A project development statement submitted to the PA acknowledges the visual impact of the proposed development, which will "be visible from various places" since it will be located "at the highest point of the Santa Lucija area". It is also likely to be visible in the long distance views from the south, where there is a drop in level to Wied Garnaw. The newly set-up Environment and Resources Authority is objecting to a proposed four storey old people's home in an ODZ area in the vicinity of the Santa Lucija state school. The ERA informed Healthmark Care Services that it is objecting to the proposal "since it would result in urban sprawl and land take-up at the expense of undeveloped rural land". The developers were also informed that if they intended to proceed with the project they would have to pre- pare a full Environmental Impact Statement. JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has ap- proved the reconstruction of two collapsed agricultural rooms to make way for a store constructed over a 75 square metres footprint, all surrounded by grass blocks. The Environment Protection Di- rectorate had alerted the PA that the building's design is not akin to that of an agricultural store, which normally aims to maximise stor- age space. The building includes a basement which increased the floor space to 152 square metres. It also noted that the proposal to use grass blocks laid on beaten earth as a passage way to the "store" points "towards the eventual con- version of this property into a resi- dence." The development is located in an Area of High Landscape Value. The development was proposed on the same footprint of two rooms visible on pre 1967 aerial photos, which however are not vis- ible in aerial photos dating to 1994. The reconstruction of ruins and the addition of a basement level are both permitted by the rural policy approved in 2014. The case officer objected to the development mainly because of the proposed grass block paving occu- pying a footprint of 229 square me- tres. The paving was later reduced to an unspecified area. But this was still deemed "excessive" by the case officer who restated her objection. The PA also approved an access gate and has regularised a rubble wall around the new development. The Environment Planning Commission justified overturning the case officer's recommenda- tion by arguing that the paving has been reduced considerably and the height of the boundary wall was re- duced to that set in the rural policy. NGO calls for 'holistic sustainable development master plan' THE Civil Society Network has called on the government to draw up a holistic sustainable develop- ment master plan for the entire island before it decides on specific high-rise development projects around Malta. The minister for the environ- ment has been reported saying that no major projects would be accepted in the Paceville area before a master plan for the zone is drafted, and before the Parlia- mentary Committee for the Envi- ronment is consulted. "The master plan should assess the impacts of such development on matters such as residents' qual- ity of life, local and national infra- structure such as roads, drainage, water, the generation of traffic, the duration of construction, shading of other properties, skyscraper wind effect, dumping of huge amounts of excavation waste and the impact on the skyline of world heritage sites," the NGO said in a statement. The NGO said that decisions regarding high-rise development should be made by citizens, and not by a select few, taking the de- velopment of high-rise parking spaces in Mriehel as an example. "A public consultation process should first be carried out on whether Mriehel should become a location for high-rise buildings at all." According to the NGO, this area was not included in the Planning Authority's draft policy for tall buildings in 2014. "Approving Mriehel as a high-rise zone with- out consulting the public would be objectionable and possibly il- legal." The NGO also said that high- rise would be developed in the direct view path between Mdina and Valletta, the two main histor- ic features on Malta's landscape. "The view of Mdina is the main historic feature on Malta's land- scape. This historical heritage must not be impacted in any way, due to its beauty, its significance and also its economic value which contributes to Malta's quality tourism product." The NGO criticised the pro- posed structure on the supposed excessive traffic burden it will re- portedly cause. "Mriehel's infrastructure cannot support the size of development being proposed. The roads are al- ready congested and the high-rise building will impact other infra- structure." The proposed development in Mriehel will consist of four tower blocks comprising 16, 18, 20 and 14 storeys, sitting on top of five basement levels. It will include just under 40,000 square metres of office space, 1,060 square metres of retail space, a 790 square metre show room, a 1,735 square metre gymnasium and day care centre, a 1,225 square metre supermarket and 33,831 square metres of park- ing spaces catering for 1,032 cars. PA approves 'agricultural' store in Fawwara Wied Garnaw: earmarked for an ODZ home for the elderly Reaching for the sky in Mriehel Fawwara reconstruction approved