Developers shift focus from mall to elderly home in Marsaskala

Abela Ventures Ltd has submitted a new application to develop an old people’s home on a site located outside the development zone (ODZ) along Triq Sant’ Antnin in Marsaskala.

The site lies behind a petrol station approved in 2018 and directly opposite the family park.

The proposed elderly home will include three levels of underground parking, two additional underground floors for ancillary facilities, and three overground levels of accommodation. The development will also feature landscaped areas and an outdoor pool. Indoor amenities are set to include a gym, an indoor pool, a spa, clinics, a multipurpose hall, and squash courts.

In 2023, the same site was earmarked by the same owners for a commercial project comprising of a supermarket, retail outlets, restaurants, and a hotel. That application has not been formally withdrawn but has remained suspended for several months.

The commercial project had envisaged the excavation of three basement levels and a shopping mall, gym, fast-food outlet, and several restaurants above. A five-storey hotel was also proposed alongside the shopping centre.

The project had drawn over 50 objections and criticism from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, which warned of an “unacceptable negative impact on the rural and cultural landscape and its legibility.”

The site currently includes an old dwelling, a garage, and a section previously used to store beach cleaning equipment. The latter use had been sanctioned by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal in 2009 after an earlier refusal by the Planning Authority. However, most of the site remains undeveloped and includes several trees and rubble walls.

While the commercial development proposed in 2023 was difficult to justify under existing planning policies, the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) allows for old people’s homes in ODZ areas.

However, applicants are expected to follow a ‘sequential approach’, using ODZ land only as a last resort after exploring existing built-up areas, brownfield sites, and vacant land within the development zone.

The application is still at its initial stages and is still being vetted by the Planning Authority before being issued for public consultation.