Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/712521
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 2016 JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has once again ignored the advice of the En- vironment Resources Authority, in approving a 200 square metre residence in the leafy Palma area of Mgarr on the pretext of a contract inked back in 1915. The lease contract signed 100 years ago refers to someone living in "five rooms" in the Palma area, and thanks to the controversial Ru- ral Policy in Design Guidelines, will allow the derelict countryside ruins to be transformed into the villa. The residence will also be sur- rounded by a 112 square metre paved area. Under the new policy all that an owner has to do is prove that the derelict rural structures had served as a dwelling in the past. Addition- ally, any building constructed be- fore 1978 is considered as legal so any ruin of such buildings may now be rebuilt as a countryside dwelling. One side-effect of this new policy has been a marked appreciation in the price of countryside ruins areas that are outside development zones. Once again the Planning Author- ity, which has approved the applica- tion, has ignored the advice of the Environment Resources Authority, which had objected to the dwelling on the Wardija ridge, an 'Area of High Landscape Protection' and a buffer zone to an 'Area of Ecologi- cal Importance'. With the seal of PA approval, the existing dilapidated rooms – occu- pying a footprint of 122 square me- tres – will be demolished and make way for the construction of a one- storey dwelling set on a 200 square metre footprint. The new building will also have a basement, which will include a wine cellar. A paved passageway and a cesspit are also proposed. Although larger than the existing footprint occupied by the rooms, the new building was con- sidered to "blend well with the sur- roundings." During the processing of the ap- plication, architect Colin Zammit presented evidence consisting of a contract and site-plan dating back to 1915. The contract shows that a certain Paolo Galea was the in- habitant of five rooms for which he paid rent. Receipts for rent pay- ments dating back to the same peri- od were also presented. An extract from the 1939 electoral register also referred to the same Paolo Galea as a resident of Tal-Palma in the limits of Mgarr. Mark Samuel Schembri presented the application. 12 News How a contract from 1915 can turn a derelict country ruin into a villa Google Maps screenshot of the five rooms once leased out in 1915, on the road leading to Ghajn Tuffieha and Manikata JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has approved the transfor- mation of a pig farm which ceased operations in 1978 into a villa with pool, despite the contrary advice of the case officer and the Environ- ment Resources Authority. The permit issued in the picturesque Tal-Landrijiet area in Rabat, designated as an Area of High Landscape Value, was issued on the basis of a planning policy which permits the redevelopment of live- stock farms which have ceased opera- tion for at least 10 years. But the same policy also states that "a permit will only be issued if the building is creating a negative envi- ronmental impact on the site and its surroundings". The case officer had insisted that no such negative impact was being cre- ated by the disused pig farm. In its justification the Environment Planning Commission noted that this proposal is compliant with the policy because the farm stopped operating in 1978. But the case officer noted that the existing structure "blends well with the rural landscape" and does not cre- ate any negative impact on the site, a claim disputed by the project's archi- tect. The proposal entails an increase of 70m2 (from 120m2 to 190m2) in the floor area of the existing building and an additional 75m2 swimming pool area. Two vernacular rooms occupying a floor area of 50m2 are being retained and the owner will have to plant 18 trees to landscape the area. The case officer who insisted that the policy could only be applied in the case of livestock farms with a negative impact on the environment conclud- ed that the swimming pool could only be considered if the residential use of the former farm was established. Therefore he also objected to the swimming pool being constructed. The Environment Resources Author- ity also objected. Pig farm makes way for villa with pool Running with the hares, JAMES DEBONO was at the Planning Authority's meeting that ignited a high-rise revolution that could now be unstoppable. At the heart of the problem, he writes, is a political class that is unmistakably entranced by the business caste of construction developers LABOUR leader Joseph Mus- cat can afford to hide behind a smokescreen of opaque decision- making and technical policies that have been tailor-made for Malta's elite of construction de- velopers and real estate moguls. And the Opposition does not have this luxury, especially when its own voters expect it to lead by example and put up a show of veritable protest against a busi- ness caste it once served when in power. For the past weeks Muscat has been talking about his epic strug- gle against the establishment and political elites. But on Thursday it became clear that the beneficiar- ies of his government's policies to promote high-rise development are big commercial groups like Gasan and Tumas, both of which are incidentally involved in the consortium behind the new gas fired power station in Delimara. Still, so far Muscat has not even had to show his face to defend these decisions. The surreptitious way Mriehel was added by the government to the list of places where high-rise can be allowed, after the conclu- sion of a public consultation, and the fact that the Mriehel towers proposed by the Gasan and Tu- mas groups were approved before the approval of a master plan for the locality, speak volumes. At Mriehel, where disused fields became an industrial hub, the ab- sence of popular, residential op- position to the project allowed the government to ride rough- shod over long-term concerns expressed by NGOs on the im- pact on Mdina views. In isolation from other buildings – which are bound to rise in the near future – the new buildings as shown in 50mm-wide angle photomon- tages, did not have a shocking impact. Because 2016 is only just the start. Forgotten Sliema The Sliema Townsquare high- rise, also proposed by the Gasan Group, posed a greater difficulty for the government, at least in view of the impact. Ten entire months of excavation and four years of construction, a massive impact on the residential com- munity in a 'deep blue' Nation- Not in favour: PA chairman Vince Cassar (left) contemplates the Townsquare development. PA chief executive Johann Buttigieg sought to remind the board that the project was in line with policy In isolation from other buildings – which are bound to rise in the near future – the new buildings as shown in 50mm-wide angle photomontages, did not have a shocking impact High-rise: Malta's new reality