Garden of Eden: owners to restore illegal car park to natural state

The Zurrieq local council has welcomed an application by Maurizio Baldacchino, the owner of the Garden of Eden complex, to reinstate an illegal car park over 4,917sq.m of land, to its original natural state. 

The planning application originally envisaged the removal of the existing concrete surface, the reinstatement of soil and the planting of olive trees. 

But the application was later changed, to restore the area to its original state. The car park had been subject to an enforcement order against the illegal levelling of the site since 1998. 

The local council asked that the restoration of the site follow instructions by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which should determine whether the site be covered with soil or restored as garigue.  

ERA already confirmed that the owners have presented a method statement showing how they intend restoring the site to its original state. 

ERA is insisting that all necessary measures are taken to avoid damage to the underlying bedrock; and that exposed bedrock is not covered with soil, with planting limited to native plants typical of garigue environments. 

Farmers working adjacent lands recall that the land in question consisted of garigue, with pockets of soil and vegetation, and had also called on the Planning Authority to insist on its restoration to its original state. 

Originally, the area occupied by the car park had been earmarked for the development of a number of bungalows. But the application was dropped after ERA insisted on the reinstatement of the car park to its natural state. 

Instead, Baldacchino recently applied for the demolition of the existing Garden of Eden wedding hall, to build 12 units of one-storey tourist accommodation, each with their own pool and terrace area. The ERA has already exempted the project from the need of an environmental impact assessment, noting that most of the development will take place on already developed land, but asked for the presentation of photomontages showing how the project will impact on coastal views.  

Baldacchino has also applied to have two new openings on the road, for vehicle access. A neighbouring farmer is objecting, due to the presence of a Cypress tree in the proposed access, 

Doubts remain on the legality of the wedding hall complex itself. To prove the legality of the structures the owners submitted a letter by former PA Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg, sent to the owners in May 2014, which certified the legality of the site. In his letter, Buttigieg states that following verifications of court procedures and legal advice, “the authority cannot state that the premises in question are illegal or that illegalities exist on site.”  

In 1990, a police license for the nightclub was withdrawn in view of “unauthorized structures” consisting of “rooms roofed with a wooden ceiling” which had been erected in the area. 

But in October 1990, Baldacchino was found not guilty of building without a permit, with the magistrate saying there was “reasonable doubt” that the structures were built before the revocation of the police trading license. 

The police and Attorney General appealed this decision, arguing that the ‘no objection’ of the Works Department to the disco license did not amount to a permit for the illegal structures. 

But the appeal was erroneously filed against a certain Joseph Polidano, instead of Joseph Baldacchino. The error was rectified four days later. But Baldacchino contested this, arguing that this went beyond the four days the police had to file the appeal; apart from arguing that they had no grounds to appeal the sentence. The Attorney General later withdrew the appeal. Yet with the exception of the police trading license, no planning permits can be actually traced for the present complex.