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James Debono
On August 3, a few days before the mid-summer holiday lull and only a month after parliament extended the development boundaries Minister George Pullicino approved five local plans with the set aim at regulating development both on a regional and locality level.
The plans had been approved by MEPA as early as 18 July, barely a few days after parliament had approved the new boundaries.
The local plans pave the way for mega-projects outside existing development schemes such as in Ta’ Cenc and Hondoq ir-Rummien.
The plans also identify a number of sites in Gozo and Comino including the Blue Lagoon for development as destination ports for the mooring of yachts.
Large-scale tourist projects in Xemxija, Mistra village and Ghajn Tuffieha are also earmarked.
Height limitations in various localities like Sliema have been increased. The controversial Qui-Si-Sana car park which is also set to host tourist related development is also endorsed by the plan.
The very short time lapse between the approval of local plans and the approval of the new boundaries raises the question on why the government had decided to intervene in the planning process, rather than wait a few weeks for the finalisation of the local plans by MEPA.
According to a spokesperson for the ministry of the environment the exercise to adjust the development boundaries had always been considered an integral part of the Local Plan process, which had been long in the making and had to be concluded.
The ministry has gone on record stating that 45 per cent of the zones included in the new boundaries were made at local plan stage.
The ministry acknowledged that MEPA’s work on the local plans had been concluded when the Malta Environment and Planning Authority issued the draft of the seventh and final local plan – the Malta South Local Plan - in 2005.
“That was the time when government had to take a position on the amendments to the development boundaries, taking into account MEPA’s work and other issues which MEPA might not have fully considered,” the ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday.
Apart from social considerations, the government needed to ensure consistency across the various local plans and hence had to intervene by issuing criteria for the rationalisation process.
Blue Lagoon: a destination port
The Gozo and Comino Local plan earmarks Marsalforn and Hondoq ir-Rummien, together with San Niklaw and the Blue Lagoon areas in Comino for the development of destination ports for the mooring of boats. The development of destination ports in these areas will be subject to an Environment Impact Assessment.
The development of destination ports in appropriate areas around Comino is being proposed with the aim to completely prohibit anchoring of individual boats in the Marine Conservation Area established by the same local plan.
The plan states that MEPA should encourage the Malta Maritime Authority to undertake a more efficient management of maritime traffic around Comino and in particular in the Blue Lagoon area, so as to minimize conflicts between maritime activity and other recreational uses in the area.
MEPA will also encourage the establishment of swimming zones at the Blue Lagoon, il-Bajja ta’ San Niklaw and il-Bajja ta’ Santa Marija.
According to the local plan a number of bays and coves around Comino are often cluttered with boats in the weekends, resulting in a chaotic and unmanaged situation, which is also taking its toll on the marine environmental resources of these areas.
Destination ports in Comino are being proposed to address “the need to upgrade
facilities for nautical tourism while protecting the environment.”
The plan proposes that destination moorings will be seasonal in nature, so that the infrastructure can be stored away in winter. They would also provide appropriate anchor systems so as to eliminate the need for individual anchoring by boats.
It is also proposed that destination ports be linked to existing commercial establishments that would provide the necessary services such as onshore toilet facilities, garbage disposal.
Xemija development
The North West Local Plan encourages MEPA to “favourably consider” development on the Fekruna restaurant site at Xemxija. The site was subject to intense controversy in 1994 when Green Party activists broke a fence to reclaim the public foreshore from the developers.
This site earmarked for development has an area of 1,200 square meters and is located at the northern tip of the bay and highly visible from distant views against the background of boulder screes scheduled for their ecological and landscape value. It bounds the secluded Dahlet il-Fekruna, which gives the name to the establishment located on the site.
The site is not only earmarked for restaurant development, leisure and beach amenities and retail but also for class 1 dwellings provided the gross floor space does not exceed one third of the total allowable floor space on the site and they do not prejudice the primary commercial uses.
“Some residential units may be accepted if they are separated from the leisure uses and adequate mitigation measures to ensure compatibility are included,” states the plan.
The height of any new structure in Fekruna is not allowed to exceed the height of the existing building and should not encroach on the coast beyond the existing built and roofed over footprint.
The local plan acknowledges that public access to the coast around this site has created major concerns in the past and it commits MEPA to ensure that any new development does not compromise access to the coast.
A present application to redevelop the site into a multi-storey block of residential apartments is still pending.
MEPA also acknowledges that the high visibility and prominence of the site requires particular attention to the design of any new scheme.
Xemxija has also been identified as a potential site for a yacht marina. But according to the plan this development is not likely to happen in the medium term and may well be beyond the life of this Local Plan. But in anticipation of this major development, the Local Plan aims at providing an appropriate planning framework. A site located on the western end of the urban area of Xemxija and currently occupied by the Porto Azzurro tourism development is also earmarked for tourist development spread on three detached blocks.
The plan also foresees the redevelopment of the Mistra Village site in to a residential neighborhood. Through the application of the floor area ratio, building heights in the new village could rise to as much as eight floors.
Qui-Si-Sana car park
Despite the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s promise to seek the exclusion of commercial development from the proposed Qui-Si-Sana car park, the North Harbour Local Plan does not only foresee the development of a car park under the present garden but also refers to tourist related development within the parking complex.
The plan states that when considering this development, MEPA will also consider the development of appropriate tourist related facilities located below ground level as outlined in the approved Qui-Si-Sana Development Brief (2002).
Surprisingly the local plan also refers to the Chalet development brief which foresees a car park under Ghar id-Dud. The government scrapped the proposed Chalet car park after a public outcry against the development.
Hondoq ir-Rummien
The Gozo Local Plan also earmarks the old quarried area at Hondoq ir-Rummien for tourist development. Developers are currently proposing the development of 258 bungalows and apartments on the old quarry site as well as a yacht marina.
According to the plan, the preferred use is to “sensitively develop the area.” It also states that tourism and marine related development may be considered by MEPA in this area subject to sensitive landscaping.
But the plan also states that development should be of low density and high quality nature that respects the environment and landscape qualities of the Hondoq ir-Rummien and the surrounding area.
In their EIA the developers claim that through landscaping they will create the perception that the project is the “work of nature itself” but the project has been deemed unsustainable by environmental NGOs like Nature Trust and Alternattiva Demokratika.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt |
