Wied Garnaw test case: MEPA faces 2007 precedent

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority had set a precedent by refusing the construction of 12 maisonettes in an agricultural zone that is now being identified for the development of a four-storey, private residence for the elderly.

The outside-development-zone (ODZ) application is now considered as a major test case on the environmental credentials of the new administration, as any approval would represent a clear reversal of past policies to keep the area free from development.

The case is also sensitive as the development is being proposed in a Labour-leaning southern locality, where residents had strongly objected to similar development under the previous administration.

The four-storey home for the elderly is being proposed on 4,472 square metres of ODZ land along Luqa Road, next to the Garnaw Valley reservoir.

Architect Robert Sarsero, a member of the environment and planning review tribunal that decides appeals against permits issued by MEPA, filed the application on behalf of applicant Neville Schembri, a director and shareholder in Healthmark Care Services, a company providing home care and support services to seniors and persons who need help at home because of illness or disability.

Sarsero, a private architect and chairman of the Freeport, was appointed to the tribunal by the present administration after it reversed a ban made by the previous administration on private architects serving on planning boards.

An online petition, 2,000 signatures strong, is urging MEPA to refuse this application.  

The Santa Lucija local council, which will be meeting to take a position on this issue, is under pressure from residents to take a position against the development

The action committee, led by local activist Catherine Polidano, who campaigned against developments proposed under the previous administration, has also written to all five MPs elected from the district urging them to take a stance against the project.

Significantly, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is one of the MPs elected from the fourth district, which includes Santa Lucija. So far the only district MP to declare himself against the project is Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.

The site is adjacent to Margaret Mortimer School and is considered as “a breathing space” for the school’s pupils. It also lies in the vicinity of the pristine Wied Garnaw valley.

Unacceptable urban development

A case officer’s report recommending the refusal of the 2007 application for 12 maisonettes in the same area states that the site was designated as an area of agricultural importance, a valley protection zone, a strategic open gap, and an aquifer protection zone in the South Malta Local Plan.

The site also lies within the flight protection zone and outside the limits of a buffer zone identified for the overhead 33KV power lines.

The case officer concluded that the development would represent “unacceptable urban development” in the countryside, and that the area had not been included in the 2006 extension of building boundaries.

A petition from third parties submitted by approximately 230 individuals had also objected to the proposed development, noting that the open land divides the two towns of Santa Lucija and Luqa.

Mayor Frederick Cutajar told MaltaToday that the council will meet to take a position on the development. Writing on his Facebook page, the mayor said the project comprised the provision of 182 beds for a private home, and published site plan of the project.

MaltaToday is informed that the Labour-led local council is also under pressure from developers not to oppose the project.