New sports complex plans submitted for Ta’ Qali Flower Power site amidst development debate

New plans have been submitted for the development of a sports complex at the former Flower Power nursery in Ta’ Qali after first proposal was slated for refusal.

The refusal of the 2022 plans was due to the project exceeding the amount of “ancillary” development foreseen in the Ta’ Qali Action Plan. The action plan regulates development in this area.

However, the latest plans still include a four-storey sports hotel and a sports retail centre, including a food court. The development had been slated for refusal by a case officer, but the decision was postponed earlier this year after the developers submitted new plans.

This part of the development is now restricted to an area in the Flower Power site already designated as a “building zone” in the Ta’ Qali Action Plan, which limits such development to 15% of the site. The hotel and retail development, as currently proposed, falls within this threshold; however, it remains debatable whether such an extensive development can be considered ancillary to the sports complex.

Other developments in the “building zone” include club rooms, a rehabilitation clinic, a health club, and other sport-related buildings.

The sports village will also extend onto disused agricultural land outside the designated building zone. This includes a full-size rugby pitch, a half-size scrum training pitch, two full-size football pitches, a sprint track, six tennis courts, 12 padel tennis courts, and an indoor sports complex.

The project also includes extensive landscaping, surface and underground parking for 753 cars, and an overlying car park accommodating another 238 cars and two coaches. Smaller parking areas are also planned next to various sports facilities. In total, the site will accommodate 1,121 vehicles and three coaches. The complex will also provide bicycle racks for a total of 5,500 bicycles.

Retail and hotel proposed as ancillary sports development

The site is governed by policy NWTQ 31 of the Ta’ Qali Action Plan, which permits a change of use from agriculture and horticulture to recreation and sport on the Flower Power site.

However, this is conditional on a holistic planning approach and a height limit of seven metres. The plan also designates part of the Flower Power site as a “building zone” for “ancillary sports” facilities, provided they do not exceed 15% of the area.

The original development was slated for refusal because some proposed uses, such as the hotel and retail component, exceeded 15% of the total gross floor area allowed within the building zone. According to the Project Description Statement (PDS) submitted by the developers’ consultants, this limit is now being respected in the latest hotel and retail plans.

A first-class facility

The new plans have been submitted by Michael Spiteri on behalf of Flower Power Ltd. According to the PDS, drafted by AIS Consultancy, the project aims to provide a high-class multi-sports training facility catering to the needs of both local and foreign elite athletes and teams.

“The favourable climatic conditions in Malta render the island an ideal destination for organising warm-weather training camps.”

However, according to the consultants, due to the limited supply of high-end facilities on the island, this potential is not being actively exploited.

“The demand for such a complex stem from the fact that most sports facilities in Malta are spread out across the island and are not equipped with accommodation and commercial services.” Consequently, the proposed development “provides a pioneering opportunity for the Maltese Islands” and is “expected to generate a lot of interest from foreign sports communities.”

The site earmarked for the mega sports village is privately owned. Part of the proposed site is located on the former grounds of the Flower Power Garden Centre, which has been closed for several years, causing most of the previous facilities to fall into a state of disrepair. The remainder of the site consists of open plots of unworked agricultural land.

The scheme involves the installation of ten underground reservoirs to harvest rainwater and surface runoff on-site. The collected rainwater will be used for various purposes, including the irrigation of landscaped areas. The reservoir system will have a collective capacity of approximately 36,200 cubic metres.

Environmental impact

The report acknowledges that the construction of new buildings will not only cause a deterioration of the visual amenity of the adjacent areas but may also disrupt viewpoints from other localities overlooking the area.

To mitigate this impact, the materials used for the structures should complement the surrounding buildings, and a landscaping plan should be specifically designed to enhance the visual appeal of the entire development.

The scheme is also expected to result in increased vehicular emissions in the area. The severity of this impact will depend on the number of additional trips generated by the project. However, it is expected that the increase in vehicle numbers will exceed 1,000, leading to “a moderate to major impact”.

A traffic impact study is recommended to determine the number of additional trips generated by the proposed scheme. All employees of the complex will be encouraged to use public transport and other sustainable travel modes to commute to and from work.