Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/714702
7 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 AUGUST 2016 News Democratic Party joins call for ERA to appeal high-rise projects THE Democratic Party (PD) has added its voice to calls for the Envi- ronment and Resources Authority to appeal the planning approval of high-rise buildings in Sliema and Mriehel. The PD, spearheaded by inde- pendent MP Marlene Farrugia, insisted that all high-rise projects should be put on hold until a na- tional master plan is approved. Following revelations in May of plans to construct several skyscrap- ers in and around Paceville, Far- rugia had tabled a parliamentary motion calling for a high-rise mor- atorium pending detailed studies. She agreed to suspend the mo- tion after tourism minister Ed- ward Zammit Lewis pledged that no Paceville high-rise applications would be processed until a master plan for the area has been com- pleted and subjected to public con- sultation. "Since a holistic national master plan on high-rise doesn't yet exist, how can ERA assure people that the projects will safeguard the envi- ronment?" the PD asked in a state- ment. ERA chairman Victor Axiak did not attend last week's PA meeting "due to health reasons", and the law does not allow ERA to send a rep- resentative in his stead. ERA's pres- ence on the board could have been a game-change for the Townsquare skyscraper project in Sliema, which was approved by only one vote. Had ERA voted against the devel- opment, the vote would have been a tie, which would have placed the final decision in the hands of PA chairman Vince Cassar, who had opposed the project. However, when asked by Mal- taToday, Axiak refused to declare how he would have voted if he had been present, for fear of prejudic- ing ERA's decision on whether to appeal the decision. Winery's basement in breach of planning policy CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 The devel- opment of the two-storey winery was originally approved in 2012. But in June the PA approved a per- mit to extend the basement from the 253 square metres approved in 2008 to 860 square metres. The extended winery, located in the Ta' Betta estates in Ta' Bur il- Kbir, which cover 40,000 square metres of land, is set to produce 30,000 bottles of wine a year. The company has been ceritified as or- ganic since 2009. The land on which the winery was approved was used by the pre- vious owner as a place where he used to dump unsold produce. The rural policy approved in 2014 clearly states that ODZ win- eries should be restricted to 200 square metres and a basement. The policy states that the area of the basement should not count as part of the total floor area but the policy also defines a basement as "an additional floor under the building's footprint". The case officer argued that the winery as approved in 2012 already exceeded this limit and that the proposed basement went beyond not just the footprint of the exist- ing building but also the approved paved area. Therefore he conclud- ed that the permit could not be is- sued. But the Agriculture Advisory Committee confirmed the genu- ine agricultural need for the new development. Elizabeth Ellul, who chairs the commission which issued the permit, was not present when the approval decision was taken on 8 June. She declared that she would have voted against the per- mit at the meeting during which the board imposed the condition through which Camilleri will have to plant three Gharghar trees on site and donate 100 indigenous trees, which will be grown on a public site. In August the Planning Board decided not to revoke this permit. The Planning Directorate and the PA's legal office have called on the authority to investigate whether the permit can be re- voked, not due to any shortcom- ing on the part of Juanito Camill- eri but due to a procedural error by the three members of the board who took the decision. The winery extension was ap- proved in a single sitting by two votes against one despite the neg- ative recommendation of the case officer. According to a legal notice is- sued in 2016, in cases where a ma- jority of board members intend voting against the advice of the case officer, the decision has to be put off to another sitting. "It is ap- parent that a procedural error was made when the commission over- turned the recommendation in its first sitting," a document present- ed by the directorate states. But to revoke the permit the PA would require evidence that this "error" had "a material bearing" on the issue of the permit. This would have required the PA to prove that "had the correct in- formation been available at the time of the decision, the decision would have been different". At the end of the meeting Juan- ito Camilleri threw his arms into the air in relief as the Plan- ning Authority refused to re- voke the permit issued to him for the extension of the winery. Board members argued that it would have been unfair to pun- ish Camilleri for a mistake made by the members of the Planning Commission. "Revoking this permit would be a travesty of justice," Camilleri told the PA board which turned down the revocation. His lawyer, Ian Stafrace, accused the authority of having led Camill- eri on by issuing a permit that it knew was likely to be revoked shortly after, having been aware of the error when the permit was issued. Marlene Farrugia The winery extension was approved in a single sitting by two votes against one