PA approves Arka ta’ Noe zoo extension against €57,000 payment

The Planning Authority has approved an application to regularise illegal additions to L-Arka ta’ Noe Zoo in Siġġiewi and authorise further facilities on Outside Development Zone (ODZ) land.

The development, most of which has already been carried out, is being regularised against a statutory fine of €31,869, while the applicant will also pay a separate €25,000 planning gain towards environmental improvement projects in Siġġiewi.

The application (PA/06369/25), submitted by Anton Caruana Cutajar, was approved by nine votes against zero on 5 November. Nobody objected to the development. The structures being sanctioned include 3,134sq.m of farm animal cages, 2,000sq.m of paddocks, stables, a manure clamp and a 1,300sq.m visitor parking area.

The proposal also includes the relocation of the zookeeper’s residence to a new 1,075sq.m site. The existing residence, approved as a farmhouse 2018, will be demolished and replaced, while the present living quarters will be converted into storage space.

The Planning Authority's Development Management Directorate justified the extension of the farm animal enclosures as part of a reorganisation of the site to provide larger cages with appropriate spacing and improve animal welfare standards.

The project architect insisted that the area was a former quarry and approval will ensure that the zoo is contained and does not sprawl in surrounding areas. He also insisted that approval would actually reduce the area impacted by the development from the current situation.

The applicant’s architect argued that the proposal would actually reduce the developed area compared with what currently exists, by concentrating facilities within the central area.

The zookeeper’s residence

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

The architect subsequently clarified that the application was not seeking permission for a new dwelling in the countryside, but the relocation of living quarters already approved as part of the zoo’s previous permit. The committee consequently withdrew its objection.

The residence will remain strictly tied to the operation of the zoo. Under a proposed condition, its use as a dwelling would lapse if zoo activities cease.

The zoo was originally sanctioned in October 2018 (PA/2477/16), despite objections from the Environment and Resources Authority, which warned that approval would create “foreseeable future pressures for extensions”. That permit carried a €50,000 planning gain.

No enforcement order has ever been issued against the irregularities now being regularised.

For the latest application, ERA issued its clearance following consultations, while Transport Malta and the PA's transport consultant considered the additional visitor traffic acceptable, noting that public access is mainly restricted to weekends and public holidays.