From livestock farms to villas, permits issued despite objections

The Environment Planning Commission has issued permits in five of seven cases involving the conversion of livestock farms into residences, despite the case officer’s recommendations for refusal. 

Since 2013 the Planning Authority has approved the conversion of seven livestock farms into private residences and refused three others. Ten other applications for the redevelopment of farms into residences are pending.

The applications were approved on the basis of a policy which allows owners to re-develop disused livestock farms into dwellings if these have been disused for the past ten years. MEPA’s rural policy allows it to approve residential development instead of disused farm buildings “which are creating a negative environmental impact on the site and its surroundings”.  

While only one application for such development was presented in 2013, six were presented in 2014, nine in 2015 and five in 2016. 

The most controversial case was that involving Roderick Farrugia in Siggiewi, which was approved despite the case officer’s insistence that there was no sufficient evidence of an operational farm “let alone that it had been disused for 10 years”. He said the agricultural directorate’s contention only confirmed that the garage was built in a way that made it unviable for use as a farm – which is why the “structure was never used” as a farm.  The board confirmed the decision two weeks ago, turning down a request to revoke the permit.

The other approved farms were in Gharghur, Mgarr, Zabbar, Naxxar, Zurrieq and Zebbug. 

Through the new policy a dwelling was approved instead of a 75-square metre poultry farm off Ras il-Gebel in Mgarr. The application was destined for refusal because a previous policy approved in 2007 limited redevelopment to farms which were larger than 150 square metres. 

But the case officer had insisted that the proposal did not provide for adequate landscaping. The Environment Planning Commission overturned this recommendation after the owner agreed to plant indigenous trees and include a grass block beneath the parking area.

A permit in an urban conservation area in Naxxar was approved despite the case officer’s insistence that the old building was worthy of preservation. But following an inspection of the site, the board decided to approve its demolition.

A 150 square metre dwelling in the St Leonard area of Zabbar was approved instead of a 450 square metre disused poultry farm. The development also includes a paved area of 360 square metres, which was deemed “excessive” by the case officer. 

One of the applications which was turned down was that presented by Mark Gasan in Zebbug, but this application is being heard again after the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal referred the case back to the EPC.  The original proposal of two villas has now been downscaled to one villa. 

Five of these applications were presented by architect Robert Musumeci, who advises the government on planning issues. Two of these permits were approved (one despite the case officer’s negative recommendation), one was turned down and two are still pending. Three applications were presented by Edwin Mintoff and two by MP and BICC chairman Charles Buhagiar.