PA to approve Sadeen’s campus without Bormla parking plans

The proposed educational institution by Sadeen group in Cospicua will require 324 parking spaces but no such facilities are being offered on the site

The proposed educational institution proposed by Sadeen group in Cospicua will require 324 parking spaces but no such facilities are being offered on the site of the British building, which is set to be approved next Thursday.

The Planning Directorate is recommending approval of the application to erect a new storey on the historical British building to house part of the new campus, in the absence of feedback from Transport Malta on the traffic impact of the project.  

Curiously, the development on the British building is set to be approved in isolation of development over the Knights building, which is yet to be considered in a separate planning application which has yet to be presented. 

When the decision to split the campus between Zoqor and Dock No 1 was announced in September last year, an area known as St Paul’s Car Park was also identified as part of the project. 

According to the document presented on that occasion 150 parking spaces were to be created in the Cottonera component, and 300 parking spaces were to be provided at Marsaskala. This would still represent a parking shortfall of 174 parking spaces at Bormla.

The case officer report notes that the proposed educational institution would cater for 500 students and 40 staff members. In line with the PA’s parking formula this would require the provision of 324 parking spaces. While noting that the current application does not include any parking provision, the case officer sidelines this shortcoming claiming that this application “is the first phase of a larger project which will be required to address the overall parking provision of the entire educational institution.”

In fact transport-related issues are being treated as a “reserved matter” which  “shall be addressed comprehensively in the application of the next phase” of the development specifically “at Dock No 1”.  

No reference is made in the case officer report to the dormitories and sport facilities proposed at Zonqor point. No planning application has so far been presented for development on this ODZ site.

Transport Malta did not even reply to the Planning Authority when it was asked for feedback on this application.