PA ‘regularises’ 153 apartment block in Żonqor for €31,000 fine

The Planning Authority has sanctioned a residential project of 153 apartments in Żonqor, Marsaskala which was already constructed prior to the issue of the permit on Thursday.

The PA had already approved a block of 118 flats back in 2022, but works were carried out on the basis of the new plans before these were even approved.

The application to sanction to works was submitted by GAP Projects Limited.

The developer’s architect described the new project as an improvement over the one approved in 2022.

“The developers who aim at quality were not happy with the overall design and we introduced two internal streets to break the massing which is a much improved in terms of overall visual impact,” project architect Colin Zammit said.

The architect explained the increase in apartments was achieved by removing internal yards and through a better utilisation of space.

But objector Davide Denti described the sanctioning of an already built development as “a dangerous precedent and “a bad practice” which is insufficiently penalised by the €31,184 fine. He referred to the increase in density in the area and appeals to the developer to spare one of the carob trees in the area.

Board member Romano Cassar who was the only board member to vote against approval described the fine as “laughable”. But other board members praised the improvements made to the design compared to what the PA had approved. 

In this case the fine was calculated on the basis of an established formula, according to planning legislation. 

The project is located on land that was added to the development zone in 2006 and the original permit was approved two years ago.

It was only last month that the application was changed to one “to sanction” an already existing development. For this reason, the case officer is recommending the imposition of a €31,184 fine “in view that sanctioning was not proposed in the original application.”

The developers already had a permit issued in 2022 to excavate the site and develop 118 apartments and two shops over five levels. 

But in 2024, a new application was presented to increase the number of apartments by 35 and increasing the number of levels to eight.

The change was made possible by the approval of a zoning application approved in March 2024, which authorised the creation of two pedestrian cul-de-sacs intended to provide more open spaces and more frontage space for the new apartment blocks.

Traffic studies show that on average the project will generate an extra 130 car trips over and above the 662 generated by the already approved 118 apartments.