Ghost of permits past returns to haunt Kalkara valley

6,200 square metres of green, open space on the Kalkara valley slope, are still being proposed for the construction of 88 apartments and 93 garages.

The valley sprawl of old carob and pomegranate trees and rubble walls overlooks the harbour, just a short distance from the Kalkara church.

But this part of the valley was controversially included in the development zone in the Grand Harbour Local Plan, approved in 2002 despite protests by the Save Kalkara Valley Front that had been led by Dominican monk Mark Montebello.

The permit is due to expire in January next year, but applicant Lawrence Fino has already presented an application to renew it and ensure that the original permit stands.

The developers were awarded their permit in 2012 despite strong objections by the Kalkara local council and concerns about flooding risks, but no development has yet taken place.   

The application was renewed in 2017 with an additional condition that neighbouring properties are surveyed before the commencement of works on site. The condition was imposed after objectors raised safety issues with regards to proposed excavation works, due to the alleged presence of wells, hallows and caves in the area. Yet no works have taken place on the site, and another application to renew the permit has now been presented.

In the absence of changes to policy and local plans or the issue of conservation orders, renewal permits are normally approved automatically.

Since 2012, the only significant change was the approval of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development, which includes a number of generic policies to protect townscapes.

When last renewed the case officer simply mentioned the Strategic Plan (SPED) in passing, but made no attempt to assess the development according to the new policy limiting to an analysis of what is permitted by the local plans.

Although endorsed by the Planning Authority’s internal heritage watchdogs, the project will still have a marked impact on Kalkara views from Birgu and Bighi.

Only two board members, Sandra Magro and Franco Montesin – both no longer PA board members – had voted against the application in 2012.

And despite objections by residents who expressed concern on flooding, the development was supported by the representatives of both political parties on the board – namely Roderick Galdes (PL), today housing minister, and former MP Joe Falzon (PN).

The site, just a few metres from the parish church, bounds an extensive stretch of undeveloped land of some 6,500 square metres. Its development is foreseen by the Grand Harbour Local Plan.

The application was originally presented in 2009 and approved three years later. It had been preceded by an outline permit issued in 2008, which had already committed the area for residential development. Moreover, the Town Planning Scheme of 1962 had already allocated the site for terraced development and the site was retained in the development zone in subsequent plans.

But residents and the Kalkara local council had raised serious objections because of flood-water problems in the area, which they said would be exacerbated by the big development.

To address these concerns a number of reservoirs were included in the development.

The Superintendence for cultural heritage was not even consulted before the project was approved in 2012. Instead the PA’s heritage planning unit and heritage advisory committee concluded that although located within an ‘area of high landscape value’ due to the harbour fortifications, the development would not cause any additional visual impact, since the views of the fortifications had already been compromised by existing buildings. Additionally, the design was deemed similar to traditional dwellings in the area.