Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/807528
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 APRIL 2017 News 6 JAMES DEBONO A proposal has been presented to the Planning Authority to do away with a planned public stairway meant to link upper and lower Par- isio Street in Sliema to enable the redevelopment of a derelict build- ing in to a four storey residential block at the junction with Moroni Street. Instead of the public stairway which was never constructed, the planning control application pre- sented by developer and hotelier Michael Stivala, proposes a 50-me- ter long and two meter wide tun- nel and a 50-meter long water cul- vert. The designated width for the planned stairs was 12.2m. The pedestrian passage and the water culvert will be constructed at the expense of the applicant to serve as a "pedestrian link between Triq Moroni and Triq Parisio". The schemed stairway dates back to 1961. The scheme, with the pro- posed stairs, was replicated in the Temporary Provision Schemes of 1989 and subsequently in the 2006 North Harbours Local Plan. The site is occupied by an ex- isting old but inhabited building which blocks access to the upper part of Parisio Street. Only last year the PA had reject- ed a planning control application presented by the authority itself in 2012 to do away with the projected schemed stairway/public access and include the site as part of the residential area. On its own initiative, the Sliema Local Council had carried out a public consultation exercise whereby it requested the opinion of the residents of the area who ex- pressed themselves in favour of the proposed staircase. Subsequently the council insisted that plans for the stairway are retained. In a written submission the Sliema Local Council while com- mending the applicant's inclusion of a public passageway and a storm water culvert in the development still registered itself as an objector so as "to be kept informed on the proceedings of this application at Parisio Street". Various residents including the tenant living in the existing have objected to the proposed develop- ment earmarked in the planning control application. The tenant claimed that the notice of the ap- plication was attached to his resi- *** The following is the advert's content: Invitation to Tender: Restoration of }'ATTARD Parish Church – Phase 1 }'Attard Parish notifies interested parties that tenders for The restoration of the building envelope of }'Attard Parish Church – Phase 1 will be received at }'Attard Parish Office, 42, Triq il-Kbira, }'Attard, ATD 1026, by not later than the 6 th April, 2017, at 11.00am. The tender document may be obtained by sending an email to: restawrknisjaattard@gmail.com Developer proposes tunnel instead of planned The site is occupied by an existing old but inhabited building which blocks access to the upper part of Parisio Street Studies still ongoing for relocation JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority had giv- en the owners of tuna pens in the north of Malta till May to relocate further offshore, but studies have still to determine an adequate zone where these can be relocated with- out causing ecological harm to the seabed. One major constraint on the search for a an aquaculture zone in the north of Malta is that this must be located at a distance of at least 300 m from the current bunkering zone at Is-Sikka l-Bajda. The cages have to be deployed in water deeper than 50 m but not deeper than 100 m as divers are not supposed to work in such depths. The Aqua culture zone will be lo- cated at a minimum distance of 4.5 km from the shore. Preliminary studies on a large area north of Qawra point in Saint Paul's Bay have indicated that the area is rich in ecological habitats, which may be harmed by nutrients re- leased in to the sea from fish farms. A bathymetric survey carried out by ADI –an Environment Impact Assessment consultancy firm- con- firmed that the area is largely rich in maerl and rhodoliths; coralline red algae which grow at a rate of 1mm a year. A Project Development Statement (PDS) presented to the Environ- ment and Resources Authority by the Department of Fisheries con- cludes that further environmental studies are required to assess the impact of tuna pens on these habi- tats. The Environment Resources Au- thority is currently determining terms of reference for this study. Malta already has a designated Aquaculture Zone in the south east of Malta which had been approved despite opposition by the Marsas- kala local council in 2005. According to the Project Develop- ment Statement the development of an additional Aquaculture Zone in the north of Malta is required "to satisfy the Government's policy for aquaculture development and growth" and is required to enable the operators "to satisfy the PA's or- ders and relocate to a permitted Aq- ua culture zone further offshore". Where will the tuna pens go? In September 2016, the Planning