Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/713415
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2016 News SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE TO RECEIVE BREAKING NEWS Go to www.maltatoday.com.mt and get SMS alerts Bilom proposes massive development on ODZ quarries JAMES DEBONO CONSTRUCTION group Bilom is proposing the development of a huge SMEs park equipped with an overlying solar farm over 158,000 square metres on the site current- ly taken up by quarries in Wied Incita, Attard. The development also foresees the construction of a family rec- reational park and a retail out- let, all set on the 158,000 square metre tract equivalent in area to 22 football fields, of ODZ land in Wied Incita. Plans seen by MaltaToday envi- sion the development of 235 ga- rages occupying 55,000 square metres of land, a retail outlet to be built over 7,460 m2 while the family recreation park would oc- cupy only 2,550 m2. Land is also identified for recycling facilities. The land earmarked for develop- ment constitutes land disturbed by quarrying activities, which ac- cording to residents are causing a serious inconvenience due to noise and dust. But as proposed the development also foresees an extension to one of the existing quarries and the relocation of the existing quarry entrance and ad- ministrative offices to the Zebbug side. Moreover the development does not envision the rehabilitation of the land for agricultural use. Ac- cording to the local plan "on ex- haustion of the mineral resource, the Wied Incita quarry is to be used as a natural reservoir and drain area". A draft policy on solar farms identifies disused quarries as po- tential sites for ODZ solar panels. The local plan also proposes a buffer zone between the residen- tial area and the quarries. In the latest application the family park is being proposed as the buffer zone. The authority is facing a large number of applications for de- velopments such as old people's homes or warehousing facilities in ODZ quarries. Environmental- ists have objected to these devel- opments, insisting that quarries should be rehabilitated for agri- cultural use. Michael Bugeja, one of the own- ers of Bilom Construction Limit- ed, is registered as the sole owner of the huge tract of land. The project is still in the initial stage and the Planning Authority has yet to issue a screening letter informing the developers whether the project conforms to existing policies. Founded in the mid 1980s as a neighbourhood construction company, the Bilom Group has emerged over the last years as one of the leaders in the real estate market, and is presently engaged in various large projects. Plans presented in 2010 by Mark Aquilina, who owns Wied Incita Quarries Limited, had foreseen the develop- ment of a golf course in the same area. But the applica- tion was withdrawn a year later. The golf course plans presented by the develop- ers also included an artifi- cial lake with water sports facilities. Front calls for review of ODZ ruins policy MIRIAM DALLI FRONT Ħarsien ODZ is call- ing for a revision of a policy in- cluded in the Rural Policy and Design Guidelines, approved in 2014, which is resulting in the reconstruction of long-collapsed buildings and the erection of new dwellings in their stead in the countryside. A case in point, the Front said, was the issue of a permit for a dwelling in an outside develop- ment zone in Tal-Fata, Haz-Zab- bar. "Although the original struc- ture no longer exists after col- lapsing in the 1970s, a permit was issued for a two-storey dwelling over a footprint of 121 square metres, on the premise that a voter was registered at this address in the 1947 electoral reg- ister," the Front said. A similar permit issued in Sep- tember 2015 foresaw the demoli- tion of three roof less structures to be converted into a villa with a swimming pool, in Landrijiet, on the ODZ outskirts of Rabat. The rebuilding of old ruins in outside development zones into new dwellings is permitted by the rural policy, if developers present proof that the ruins were once used as a residence. Moreover, according to the policy, any building construct- ed before 1978 is considered as legal. Therefore, any pre-1978 building whose existence can be confirmed on a site plan can now be rebuilt, even if it no longer ex- ists. "The redevelopment of 'ruins' was specifically excluded in the first draft policy regulating rural and ODZ developments issued for public consultation in Octo- ber 2013," the Front pointed out. Ruins were defined as "any di- lapidated structure which had lost the majority of its support- ing walls or roofs". This clause was however removed in the ap- proved document. "The Planning Authority must reintroduce this safeguard against a loophole which is being used to build new residential de- velopment in ODZ areas," Front Harsien ODZ said. The owners of a Zabbar farmhouse that collapsed 38 years ago want to rebuild it into a two-storey dwelling The proposed development stretches over 22 football fields of ODZ land in Wied Incita