Għaxaq farmland was PA’s ‘preferred site’ for church school relocation, EIA claims

EIA claims agricultural land in Għaxaq was identified for school development in 2006 local plans

The Planning Authority had confirmed that agricultural land in Għaxaq was “the preferred site for the relocation” of St Albert College in a meeting with the applicant held in December 2018, an Environmental Impact Assessment states.

Later in 2021 the PA informed the Environment and Resources Authority that the application will still be assessed according to a local plan policy allocating the land for the development of a school, despite a declaration by the same Authority in 2020 that the project was in breach of SPED policies protecting rural areas which override the local plan.

The relocation of St Albert school from Valletta is being proposed on 36,000sq.m of land just outside the development zone in Għaxaq.

The EIA confirms that the project will result in the loss of more than 28,000sq.m of agricultural land, 46 protected trees and various rubble walls and rural structures which have heritage value.

Details about the application outlined in a recently published Environment Impact Assessment reveal that the applicant met with the Planning Authority (PA)2 to discuss taking forward of a new application presented in 2018 after the withdrawal of a previous application on a larger portion of land (72,000 sq.m) which had been recommended for refusal. “At that meeting, the PA reconfirmed that the scheme site was the preferred site for the relocation of the school.”

According to the EIA the decision to relocate the existing School from its current location in Valletta was taken in 2000. Back then the PA was approached by the school to identify “a suitable site for relocation in the south of Malta”.

Subsequently the PA had conducted a site selection exercise which had identified 12 potential relocation sites, all in the south of Malta, and which included the Scheme site and adjoining lands. It was the PA which directed the applicant to the land in Għaxaq, as “the preferred option for relocation of the school.”

In December 2002, MEPA advised the applicant that a planning application could be pursued in this location. The commitment was included in the local plan which states that “since no suitable land is available within scheme boundaries”, an ODZ site was “indicated for further assessment as a possible location for the proposed schools”.

But according to the local plan any decision would depend on the outcome of an EIA and a Traffic impact study as well as an assessment of the agricultural potential and quality of this area with aim of minimising the potential impact of the development on the agricultural land.     The first application for an Outline Development Permit on this site was submitted in 2006. At this juncture the proposal comprised two schools – a school for the Sacred Heart religious order, located on the site adjoining the development zone boundary, and the St Albert the Great College, located on the adjoining lands between the scheme site and Triq tal-Barrani. However, in January 2015, Sacred Heart decided not to pursue with their school.

In April 2018, the application was subsequently withdrawn, following the PA’s planning directorate’s recommendation for refusal of permission.

The directorate had recommended refusal because the applicant had failed to present the EIA and TIS mandated by the local plan. The latest application is limited to the 36,000sq.m site originally identified for Sacred Heart.

 

Is the local plan still valid?

In September 2020 the Planning Authority had informed the applicant through a letter that following the enactment of the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED) in 2015, the “the justification in the local plan policy (SMGH 06) to allocate such area for development, no longer applies”.

Additionally, according to the PA the proposed development would conflict with the SPED policies protecting the rural environment. In view of the SPED the PA also demanded a “proper justification” as to why such development is required which should be based on the “sequential approach” which obliges applicants to first consider developed sites before considering sites in the ODZ.

Subsequently a detailed justification why the proposed area in Għaxaq was suitable to accommodate the school was presented by the school architect, who pointed out that under-utilised government school properties were not available to relocate St. Albert from Valletta.

Moreover, there was of shortage of existing buildings and land within development zones that have large open spaces suitable for the sports ground and recreation areas being proposed. In the 2002 site selection, there were only 12 different sites that were large enough to accommodate the space requirements for the school building and open spaces for the sports ground and recreation spaces. “If such exercise was to be carried out nowadays, it would yield even less suitable sites due to the development within these areas that is likely to have taken place within the last two decades.”

Given the fact that no other feasible alternatives exist, the architect insisted that “in accordance with the sequential approach, the use of Għaxaq application site for educational purposes is deemed to have been justified”.

Subsequently, the PA informed the ERA that “the proposed development would be assessed in line with the Local Plan Policy” which had identified the area for the development of a school.