Portelli seeks villas instead of abandoned ODZ tourist complex near Mizieb

The Planning Authority is once again facing a tricky application involving the redevelopment of an eye-sore in the outskirts of Miżieb.

The development proposed by a company partly owned by developer Joseph Portelli would entail the demolition of the abandoned tourist complex known as Sunshine and replacing it with six villas with extensive gardens and pool areas overlooking the surrounding pristine countryside.

The site is located off Triq il-Palma in the vicinity of the Mizieb woodland in an area known as Tal-Argentier. The site borders on an Area of Ecological Importance.

The development is being proposed by CF Developers.

According to the planning application, CF Developers does not own the site but was  authorised to carry out the proposed development through an agreement with the owner.

Most of the development is being proposed instead of existing development which includes a farmhouse (139sq.m), greenhouses (340sq.m), disused apartments (640sq.m) and a former nightclub/restaurant (764sq.m) for a total footprint of 1,883sq.m of which 1,661sq.m are covered by permits issued between 1966 and 1991.

But one of the proposed villas protrudes outside the area covered by existing developments.

A previous application presented by Manwel Borg in 2008 had envisaged the demolition of the  existing tourist complex, restaurant and mushroom farm and construction of 13 residential units.

But the application was withdrawn after it was recommended for refusal by the case officer in 2020.

The case officer report states that the applicant had been notified that “further residential uses are not acceptable.”

The development was also deemed to be in breach of the Rural Policy and Design Guidance, 2014 since the policy does not consider conversions of agricultural structures into dwellings. The proposal was also in breach of the Strategic Plan for Environment & Development (SPED) whose objectives rule out further urbanisation of the countryside.

Architect’s drawings showing proposed villas

How scenic area was ruined

The first permit issued in the area dates to 1966 when a shed for growing mushrooms and an overlying glass house for out of season agricultural produce was approved.

A major turning point took place in 1975 when a permit for the construction of  dwellings beneath the glasshouses was approved. A permit for an extension of this development was issued a year later. In 1991 another permit was issued to erect a terraced house, store and a garage.

But an application to extend the restaurant was refused in 1995 because the proposed development was deemed to have an adverse visual impact. But another permit to extend the restaurant was issued three years later.

An application presented in 2005 by Choppers & Sons Limited for the construction of tourist accommodation instead of the existing structures was later withdrawn. Another attempt was made in 2008 in an application by Manwel Borg. The application dragged on till 2020 before it was finally withdrawn.