Sanctioning of Siġġiewi zoo illegal extension will cost €57,000

The expansion of L-Arka ta’ Noe Zoo in Siġġiewi may go ahead subject to a €31,869 fine for illegal development and a further €25,000 planning gain.

This is the recommendation for approval being made by the Planning Authority’s Development Management Directorate.

The application (PA/06369/25) will be decided by the Planning Board at a hearing scheduled for 5 November. It seeks to sanction structures built in deviation from the original permit while authorising additional facilities on land outside the development zone (ODZ).

The zoo, proposed by Anton Caruana Cutajar, was first granted sanctioning permission in October 2018 (PA/2477/16). That permit covered the so-called “therapeutic zoo” and its associated facilities.

The latest application seeks to regularise further unauthorised development, including a multipurpose hall, expanded farm animal enclosures, sanitary blocks, a girna or store, and other ancillary facilities.

The €31,869 statutory fine must be paid before the new permit is issued. The separate €25,000 planning gain will be transferred to the Planning Authority’s fund for environmental improvement projects in Siġġiewi.

The original 2018 permit had already carried a €50,000 planning gain payment.

The new application, encompasses a significantly expanded total site footprint of 32,000sq.m with 18,100sq.m currently dedicated to existing zoo operations.

No enforcement order has ever been issued against the irregularities now targeted for sanctioning.

Multi purpose tent

More cages, paddocks and parking

The proposed additions, most of which have already been carried out, include 3,134sq.m of farm animal cages, 2,000sq.m of paddocks, stables and a manure clamp, and a 1,300sq.m parking area for visitors.

A further 1,075sq.m are earmarked for the relocation of the zookeeper’s residence. The existing living quarters would be converted into storage space.

The principal justification given by the directorate for regularising and extending the farm animal cages is the spatial re-organisation of the site to provide larger enclosures with appropriate spacing, specifically intended to raise animal welfare standards.

The zookeeper residence

The residential element initially raised concerns with the Agricultural Advisory Committee, which noted that the applicant did not qualify for a standalone residence under the rural planning policy.

The architect subsequently clarified that the application did not seek permission for a new dwelling outside the development zone, but the relocation of living quarters already approved under the 2018 permit. The committee consequently withdrew its objection.

The case officer is recommending that the relocated residence remain strictly tied to the zoo’s operation. Under a proposed condition, the right to use the building as a residence would lapse if zoo activities cease.

How zoo expanded over the years

The site has a longer planning history. An application submitted in 2010 for unauthorised stables, a horse pool, a manure clamp and animal cages was refused in March 2011, with the development considered unnecessary agricultural sprawl. The zoo was developed irregularly over the next decade.

But a 2018 permit subsequently established the authorised use of the site as L-Arka ta’ Noe therapeutic zoo. The permit was issued despite ERA’s objections and warning that this “would result in foreseeable future pressures for extensions.”

During the processing of the latest application, Transport Malta and the Planning Authority’s transport consultant concluded that visitor traffic would be acceptable, noting that public access is mainly restricted to weekends and public holidays and that the site has few staff.

This time around, the Environment and Resources Authority, issued its clearance following consultations on the proposal.

In a separate case concerning a zoo, the Planning Authority had in July 2025 approved the regularisation of two decades of illegal development at the Montekristo Estate in Ħal Farruġ, Siġġiewi. The sprawling site, mostly Outside Development Zone (ODZ), belongs to the Polidano brothers and includes a zoo.

Sanctioning was approved against a record €1.8 million fine.