ERA gives go-ahead for four villas on quarry site near Dingli cliffs

Backfilled quarries are normally returned to agricultural use or developed into solar farms but the owners of a hard stone quarry in Siggiewi are proposing villas instead. 

The owners are proposing four villas, each having a footprint of between 242sq.m and 265sq.m, connected by a beaten earth path. 

If approved by the Planning Authority, the villas whose construction would only be possible in 10 to 15 years' time when the quarry is fully reclaimed, will be in close vicinity to the scenic coastline but also to adjacent quarries belonging to other owners. 

And while the plan would remove an eye sore in one of Malta’s most pristine areas, the approval of villas could set a precedent for other neighbouring quarries, possibly resulting in urban sprawl. 

The 81,000 sq.m quarry is in an area known as Ta’ Żuta and forms part of a cluster of hard stone quarries located within proximity to Buskett, Dingli cliffs and the Ghar il-Kbir cave complex. 

The site is bordered on the north and west side by agricultural land and garigue and by adjacent quarries on the east. The quarry lies in a Special Area of Conservation and an Area of High Landscape Value. 

This is the third proposal by the Ramel u Zrar Ltd, a company owned by Carmel Abdilla, proposing an after-use for the quarry.   

Back in 2018 they had proposed the construction of garages, stores and offices. Two years later they proposed a guest house with an underlying carpark, and an ancillary swimming pool and deck area. Both applications were objected to by ERA and withdrawn. 

During the processing of these applications a series of meetings were held between ERA and the applicant “to discuss a revised concept” which is more appropriate to the context. ERA had particularly expressed concerns about the creation of an underground car park and the formalisation of the site. 

In its reaction to the latest attempt to redevelop the site, ERA has welcomed the improvements made following the discussions held on the two previous applications, particularly the elimination of industrial after-uses and underground parking.  

ERA has also indicated that the proposed four villas are acceptable as these will be screened by the quarry depression itself. Moreover, according to ERA, following the backfilling of the quarry, the area would be visually improved “as long as the residences are low-lying and of a low intensity”.  

But ERA has called for changes to plans aimed at limiting the sprawl of the proposed development by locating the villas nearer to each other rather instead of being scattered. 

The  Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also issued its blessing noting that application is limited to “four contained and single storey residences, which are to be connected via beaten earth paths”. 

The masterplan submitted by the owners is split in four phases. During the first phase which can last up to five years existing offices and stores will be demolished to facilitate the extraction of all material within the quarry boundary. 

Subsequently, the quarry will be infilled with crushed material which will be covered by a 1-to-2-metre layer of soil. The construction of the four one-storey villas is envisaged to start in between seven to 15 years' time. 

The quarry is currently subject to two longstanding enforcement notices, dating back to 1995 and 1998, for illegal quarrying and excavation works in protected areas.  The developers’ architect argues that these illegalities can only be remedied through the approval of the plan for backfilling the quarry and landscaping the area.