Tribunal says Balzan’s ficus trees will be safeguarded

The planning appeals tribunal has dismissed an appeal by the Balzan council against a planning control permit allowing a new pedestrian-priority road at the Dolphin Complex.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) ruled that the two 50-year-old ficus trees on site will be safeguarded under strict conditions.

The new pedestrian road passing very close to where the trees are located was approved in March. Before its approval, the case officer had warned that this “slight change” in alignment would shift the development frontage closer to the public pavement, posing “a significant risk to two large mature trees just outside the site.”

While noting that the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) had issued its clearance for the zoning application, the case officer recommended a condition “to ensure that these trees are protected or suitably replaced if absolutely necessary.”

During a subsequent public hearing, the Planning Authority (PA) introduced a new condition requiring that the kerb around the trees be clearly indicated in the plans, with the intent of protecting them.

But the final decision still included a condition catering for the eventuality of damage to the trees. If damage does occur, the permit states the trees shall be replaced by other trees as indicated by ERA.

The Balzan council criticised this clause as contradictory, arguing that two 50-year-old trees cannot be “adequately replaced.”

The council argued in its appeal that the proposed road alignment still runs dangerously close to the trunks of the mature trees and that their protection could not be guaranteed. The council also warned that one of the trees would likely need to be removed to allow access for emergency vehicles. But in its decision the tribunal insisted that no proof was presented to substantiate this claim.

The council maintained that the approved alignment left “no buffer” between the new kerb and the tree roots, creating a serious risk of damage both during construction and in the long term. It called for the road alignment to be shifted further away from the trees to ensure their continued survival.

However, the tribunal sided with the PA and ERA, both of which insisted that the trees would not be jeopardised by the approved layout. ERA chief executive Kevin Mercieca confirmed that the authority’s assessment found that “the location of these trees is not being jeopardised by the implementation of the proposed scheme.”

The EPRT also noted that to strengthen protection, the PA’s Executive Council requested revised plans introducing a raised pavement near the trees. The final approved plan includes a note specifying that the pavement level will be 15 centimetres higher than the pedestrian road’s surface. The tribunal said this modification offered “more protection for the ficus trees” by physically separating them from vehicular movement.

The permit also designates the new road as pedestrian-priority, limiting vehicular access strictly to emergency and service vehicles—a measure the tribunal said further reduces the likelihood of damage to the trees.

In rejecting the appeal, the tribunal concluded that both the ERA and PA had duly considered the trees’ protection, no removal was authorised, and additional safeguards were in place. It also underlined that the current permit merely establishes the road alignment; any construction will still require a separate full development application.

The Dolphin complex saga

The application was filed by CF Homes Ltd, a company partly owned by developer Joseph Portelli, which is seeking to redevelop the 4,000-square-metre Dolphin Complex site at the junction of Triq il-Kbira and Wied Ħal Balzan.

The proposal follows a 2023 tribunal decision revoking an earlier permit for an 88-apartment complex deemed to breach several planning policies. The new application introduces an eight-metre pedestrian passage through the site, with removable bollards restricting vehicle access. The company says the layout will improve façades and create more open space, though critics warn it still brings construction closer to the monumental ficus trees whose future remains under close public scrutiny.