PA approves ODZ swimming pools in Żabbar despite ERA objection

Two swimming pools proposed on ODZ land at the edge of Żabbar’s Nissieġ area have been approved by the Planning Authority, despite opposition from the environment watchdog.

The Environment and Resources Authority had warned the pools will contribute to further land take-up outside the development zones and contribute to the formalisation of rural land.

The application, filed by Silvan Mizzi—listed as a business partner of construction magnate Joseph Portelli—concerns two ground-floor swimming pools and PVC decking linked to maisonettes forming part of a mixed-use block approved last year.

The pools had already been proposed in the original application but were removed after ERA objected to them.

The site lies in Triq in-Nissieġ, an ODZ edge plot without heritage or archaeological constraints. However, ERA had argued that the proposal represents a further encroachment into the rural area, contributing to sprawl beyond the footprint already committed by the previous development. The ERA had already expressed concern about the original application, which designated the area now earmarked for pools as a landscaping zone.

Despite ERA’s objection, the case officer assessing the swimming pools application concluded that the proposal complies with all criteria of the Rural Policy and Design Guidance (2014), which regulates the construction of swimming pools in ODZ areas.

According to the report, each pool remains below the 75sq.m limit allowed for pools linked to legally established residences. No ancillary buildings are planned, and the applicant is pledging to create soft-landscaped areas using indigenous species.

The report stresses that because the pool structures are being added within the curtilage of an already-approved residential block, and because the design falls within the parameters of the rural policy, the directorate found “no sufficient planning grounds” to refuse the permit.

The case comes amid a growing trend in which ODZ swimming pools are being added to newly approved residential blocks located directly on the development zone boundary. This practice is increasingly criticised by environmental NGOs for blurring the line between urban and rural land.

These edge-of-zone projects often receive permission for residential units under one application, followed by a second application to extend recreational amenities into the ODZ portion of the same parcel.