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James Debono
Three large “illegal” stores in Qormi, belonging to Anthony Fenech, one of the shareholders of Tumas Group, have now been included in the new rationalised boundaries announced by MEPA.
Fenech is also a director of Easysell KIA as well as the newly set-up Valletta Gateway company which has lately won the tender for cargo handling services at the port.
Back in 1999, Fenech had requested to sanction three separate adjoining warehousing units each consisting of a ground floor garage and an overlying first floor warehouse.
MEPA had refused to sanction the development in a planning dispute, which raged for six whole years.
Fenech appealed twice against MEPA’s decision to refuse the sanctioning of the building but the MEPA board did not budge from its original decision.
The site was also covered by an enforcement order pending since 1999. An appeal against this enforcement order was dismissed by MEPA in 2001.
Fenech had requested to sanction three separate adjoining warehousing units each consisting of a ground floor garage and an overlying first floor warehouse.
The major constraint for this development was that it lied outside the 1988 development scheme. With this obstacle removed, nothing stands in the way for the sanctioning of the showroom.
The developer’s architect claimed that a permit issued in 1980 covered the stores but the relative file has been misplaced and lost.
He claimed that since the premises in question form part of the same development these could not be considered as being illegal.
Notwithstanding the lost file, MEPA insisted that the application had to be assessed in accordance with the existing policies which seek to keep a distinction between urban and rural areas by limiting the spread of sporadic development.
According to MEPA the development failed to make adequate provision for off-street loading and unloading and would have had an adverse impact on the free and safe flow of vehicles on the adjoining highway.
Another building in the same area is the Blue Print’s press building. Michael Demajo had also applied to have this building sanctioned but MEPA had refused his application.
The building was also covered by an enforcement order.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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