Zoning application for massive Nigret site to be decided before archaeological investigation

A massive 18,300sq.m site in the Nigret area of Żurrieq, currently consisting of agricultural fields and rural structures, is earmarked for the erection of five residential blocks.

The zoning application proposed by Silvan Fenech’s Tum Invest company proposes that apartment blocks will cover 70% of the site.

The proposal will also see 25% of the site allocated for sports and recreational facilities, while a social and community facility is being proposed on the rest of the site. The proposal follows the local plan policy regulating development on the site.

The development has already been assessed by a case officer, who is recommending approval. But the final decision will be taken by the PA’s Executive Council on 10 September.

If approved the zoning permit will set the parameters for subsequent development permits which still have to be issued by the PA.

But the PA will be taking its decision on the zoning permit before the finalisation of an archaeological evaluation of the site ordered by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. The SCH had recommended the evaluation take place before the zoning decision so that if any archaeological discoveries are made, the layout of the development is amended accordingly.

But inexplicably, the same SCH gave the developer the option of conducting the archaeological studies after the zoning permit is issued, while insisting that no building permits are issued before the completion of this study.

The area is known to harbour archaeological remains, with past investigations revealing the presence of rock-cut structures, including a cistern roofed with arches, and possibly megaliths incorporated in existing rubble walls.

The case officer is now recommending a condition stipulating that “no part of the site, including roads, shall be released for development prior to the completion of a comprehensive archaeological survey which certifies that the building and road alignments will not have an unacceptable adverse impact on any features of cultural heritage importance.”

No objection from Żurrieq council

The Żurrieq Local council had also issued its go-ahead for the development noting that the area has been earmarked for development for a long time, and the site is regulated by a local plan policy.

But the council is also insisting that the area earmarked for a ‘Social and Community Facility’ should include a home for the elderly to satisfy the current needs of the locality.

Moreover, it also noted that the general layout of the development constitutes “a significant improvement” over an already approved zoning application covering part of the site.

The proposed development will see the construction of of a new road passing midway through the site in a north-south direction to be connected to Triq Fra Ġammari Zammit at two different points.

The zoning parameters were established in the 2006 South Malta Local Plan.

The policy stipulates that 30% of the site is dedicated to recreational/sports facilities, of which 75% would be public open space, whilst the rest being private. Moreover between 10-15% of the site is to be reserved for social and community facilities, while 55-60% is allocated for residential development and local convenience shops, including any internal roads and any parking provision required by the development.

But curiously, the same policy added that in order to encourage the comprehensive planning of the whole site, the Planning Authority could favourably consider “increasing the percentage of site area for residential development to 70%, whilst reducing the site areas for recreational and social/community facilities to 25% and 5% respectively.”

Developers Tum Invest had already been granted a zoning permit on a substantial part of the site but opted to present another application covering an adjacent plot of land where development is regulated by the same local plan policy.

The Environment and Resources Authority has expressed no concerns on the development since it is “located entirely within development zone”.