PA case officer recommends homes on disused mushroom farm in Tas-Salib

The Planning Authority’s Development Management Directorate is recommending approval in principle for the redevelopment of the disused Chadwick Mushroom Farm at Tas-Salib, Rabat, into a cluster of eight villas of around 150sq.m each. The mushroom farm was located about 300m away from the main settlement in the Tas-Salib hamlet.

The application presented by Suzanne Portelli’s Chadwick Mushroom Farm Ltd, is due to be decided by the Planning Commission on 2 September 2026 and involves the demolition of the existing mushroom farm buildings on a site of around 9,400 square metres and their replacement with residential units described by the applicant as an “eco-community farm”.

Part of the site at the rear would be retained for agricultural purposes, with ERA requiring that this area remain undeveloped and protected from future construction.

Despite that description, the outline permission being recommended would establish the principle of Class 1 residential development on the site.

The case officer estimates that up to eight homes could eventually be accommodated, based on the site's 53 metre frontage onto the public road and a six metre frontage allowance for each dwelling.

The application also illustrates how residential development can be considered within Malta’s Outside Development Zone (ODZ) through the policies governing rural settlements (hamlets).

The site is within the Category 2 Rural Settlement of Tas-Salib, and the Development Management Directorate is assessing the proposal under Policy NWR 3 of the North West Local Plan, as amended by the 2025 Partial Review for Rural Settlements.

This policy allows dwelling units, including new units on uncommitted land, within designated Category 2 rural settlements, subject to limits on their size, height, access and impact on the surrounding rural landscape.

The outline application does not, however, approve a specific layout or a fixed number of homes. The eventual number would be determined by the site's road frontage, while the location, design, height, landscaping, parking and other details would have to be assessed through a subsequent full application. No swimming pools are being proposed at this stage.

Each dwelling would be limited to a maximum footprint of 150sq.m and between 120sq.m and 200sq.m of total floorspace. Buildings would be limited to two floors above road level, with a basement permitted.

The site falls within the wider Area of High Landscape Value covering Chadwick Lakes, Fiddien and surrounding areas. However, the proposed development is at Tas-Salib and is not in close proximity to Chadwick Lakes themselves.

The recommendation comes despite repeated objections from the Planning Authority's Agriculture Advisory Committee.

The committee noted that the applicant is not registered with the Agriculture Directorate and that part of the site is registered to a third party. It maintained its objection in 2024, 2025 and again in June 2026, arguing that the proposal was not for agricultural purposes.

The Development Management Directorate said this did not prevent the application from being assessed under the rural settlement policy, noting that registration as a farmer is not required for residential proposals falling under the policy.

The proposal follows a previous application for the same site in 2019, which sought eight residential units. That application was refused and the refusal was subsequently confirmed by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. The Tribunal had questioned whether the existing mushroom farm was genuinely dilapidated and whether it remained suitable for agricultural use. It also indicated that any residential development in the area should be positioned close to the public road rather than deeper into the site.

The new application includes a condition report stating that the existing buildings are now in a dilapidated and unsafe condition and that their rehabilitation is considered unfeasible. A separate assessment submitted by the applicant argues that the site is no longer suitable for mushroom farming and would not be financially viable for livestock farming. The Development Management Directorate has accepted this reasoning and considers that the existing farm can now be demolished.

The Environment and Resources Authority has raised no objection to the outline proposal, subject to the development being integrated into its surroundings, appropriate landscaping being provided and the rear part of the site being retained for agriculture with no future development.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has also raised no objection, although it has warned that the design and building profiles may need to be refined to reduce visual impacts. The area has high archaeological sensitivity, with numerous cart ruts and other rock-cut features recorded in the surrounding area. Any approved works will have to be archaeologically monitored.

The Development Management Directorate considers the proposed scheme an opportunity to remove what it describes as a dilapidated and unusable building and replace it with a low-density development designed around the original topography of the site.

If approved on 2 September 2026, the outline permission would be valid for five years. No construction could begin until a full development application is approved.