Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/800760
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 MARCH 2017 6 JAMES DEBONO GAP developers have dropped three of their five applications to develop apartments on a tract of open space in Luqa, avoid- ing the need to conduct the inevitable environ- mental impact assessment had they proceeded with all five applications. While the original ap- plications presented by architect Colin Zammit would have resulted in a total of 269 new dwell- ings, the two remaining applications will result in 90 new dwellings on 3,150 square metres of land. It was the Environment and Re- sources Authority which initially requested an EIA in view of the proposed development in all the five separately presented applica- tions. Following the withdrawal of the three other applications, the ERA confirmed that the downsized de- velopment does not qualify for an EIA. Transport Malta, which had also initially called for a traffic impact assessment, has now with- drawn its demand. But by withdrawing the three applications, the developer can still apply on the remaining sites – which are owned by GAP – at some future date. The existing almond trees and vegetation on the site are not protected by law and the area is earmarked for residential devel- opment in the local plan approved in 2006. According to the Planning Di- rectorate "the remaining two ap- plications have a site area of ap- proximately 3,150 sq.m and do not exceed 30,000 sq.m in terms of gross floor area and do not qualify for further assessment in terms of the EIA." Both applications are now set for approval at the PA meeting due next Wednesday. The vast tract of undeveloped fields in the vicinity of the Luqa state school has been originally earmarked for residential devel- opment consisting of 35 mai- sonettes, 187 apartments and 47 penthouses. The two re- maining applications will include 14 maisonettes, 61 apartments, 15 pent- houses and 67 garages. The Luqa council had voiced concerns on the cumulative impact of all five applications. "Such a large scale development will be removing one of the last rural areas in the locality," the council warned. "Our locality – sur- rounded by industrial ar- eas and the airport – lacks open spaces that could be utilised for recreational purposes." The council has also called on the Planning Authority to assess the five differ- ent applications as one, insisting that a project of such magnitude normally requires an EIA. "The development has been divided into five separate applications for which the Authority may not re- quest such a report," the council warned. The site is not protected by any designation and is often subjected to littering. But it is also consid- ered by residents as a lung for the densely populated area. GAP Limited is currently de- veloping 152 apartments in Tal- Masrija in Mellieha. A subsidiary of the same company also wants to develop an old people's home in an ODZ (outside development zones) area in Naxxar. MATTHEW VELLA IT has cost the Maltese taxpayer €112,000, VAT included, to have Castille Square adorned with the latest creation of architect Valerio Schembri. And that excludes the cost of in- stalling the sculpture, which are to be borne by the Grand Harbour Re- generation Corporation. Schembri was commissioned by Heritage Malta to create a monu- ment that would represent the struggle of each man and woman to have worked towards Malta's sov- ereign status. Dubbed 'A Flame That Never Dies', the monument "celebrates the Maltese" who played a role in securing the island's sovereignty and independence from foreign rule, and will be inaugurated at Val- letta's Castille Square on 12 May. As the sculptor behind the Dom Mintoff monument, Schembri's flame evokes that perennial sym- bol of Labour politics, the flaming torch. Whether this undying con- flagration is the proper represen- tation of the Maltese struggle to- wards independent nationhood, or just a lazy metaphor, may be sub- ject to debate. Undoubtedly, this is yet another gratuitous marker of the Labour administration's milestones: the 'knot' monument that was erected Developers avoid EIA with downsized Luqa project €112,000 News The tenor's a wine lover, it's 'claret' to see YOU can find him in London's Covent Garden and New York's Metropolitan Opera, but when he is not performing the arias of Mozart, Verdi and Puccini for the masses, Calleja can be found examining his collec- tion of Bordeaux wines resid- ing in a 400-square-foot cel- lar in his Mellieha home. Winspectator.com says he holds more than 4,000 bot- tles, "including cases of Château Figeac back to the 1960s, decade-long verticals of Châteaux Angélus, Ausone, Coutet, Cheval-Blanc and La Serre, and treasures from St.- Estèphe and Margaux." Thanks to the Mediterranean climate and the proximity of the sea to his Mellieha abode, this wine cellar has a natural humidity range of between 75 and 85 per cent, well-suited for wine storage. "No cooling units are needed between December and March, when the insu- lated room maintains a steady 62.5°F to 63°F; Calleja has installed two air conditioners and four gauges to ensure sta- ble temperatures during the summer months." Calleja's wine passion has him in good company. In 2004, maestro Brian Schem- bri invited him to a party at the home of wine merchant Michael Tabone, who is also chancellor of Malta's Jurade, the international society de- voted to promoting the wines of St.-Emilion. Tabone treated Calleja to bottles of Château Monbous- quet, Château Fonplégade and Château Bel-Air, all from 1978, the tenor's birth year. Later on, Tabone secured Calleja to sing at the Ban des Vendanges, St.-Emilion's an- nual harvest festival. Calleja says he turned down the fee. "I love wine… Pay me in kind whatever you think the concert was worth." Photo courtesy: Joseph Calleja