Mercury boss Portelli does not want to pay €41,000 imposed by PA for ODZ permit

One of Gozitan mega-developer Joseph Portelli’s companies is refusing to pay a €41,075 planning gain imposed as a condition by the Planning Authority for a permit on six villas he wants built outside development zones. 

The planning gain, charged to CF Developers, would go towards the funding of environmental projects in Mellieħa. The company has requested a ‘reconsideration’ of this condition. Portelli, owner of the Mercury high-rise in Paceville, is a part-owner of CF Developers. 

The one-time payment was included as a permit condition last month when the Planning Authority approved six ODZ villas close to the Tal-Ħilda caves set between Xemxija and Manikata, overlooking the Pwales valley. 

The six villas were approved instead of a derelict tourist complex built in the 1970s before planning policies protecting the areas outside development were even introduced. 

The planning gain was recommended by the PA’s development and management directorate in view of the ODZ location where the development was approved, calculated at the standard €25 per square metre, for the total gross floor area of 1,643sq.m. 

Similar planning gains were imposed in the past by the PA when approving new developments such as ODZ fuel stations. The permit stipulated that the planning gain is used to fund environmental improvement projects in the locality of Mellieħa. 

But project architect Maria Schembri Grima has formally asked the PA to “reconsider” the planning gain, arguing that the villas are replacing an already committed and approved development, that is also smaller in size. 

The present structures occupy a total floor area of 1,670sq.m, while the proposed development, including the proposed terraces and swimming pools, will cover an approximate area of 1,643sq.m. 

She even claimed the new development will result in increased “quietness”, less lighting and traffic, even if the complex has long been left disused. 

Residents opposing the project had warned of urban sprawl in the ecologically sensitive area, especially when considering that the tourist complex was approved before planning policies protecting the area came into force. 

This point was made by John Buttigieg, the deputy mayor of Mellieha who voted against the development. 

The PA’s case officer said all structures on this site are covered with permits, with a permit dating back to 1974, and another in 1991 approving the construction of a farmhouse and stores. 

Speaking on behalf of residents during the public hearing when the project was approved, architect and ADPD official Carmel Cacopardo had warned against using past precedents to justify new development. “Obscenities which were permitted in the past should not be used as a pretext to justify new development,” Cacopardo said. 

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