Livestock farm to be upgraded into two warehouses

In a bizarre twist a case officer report is recommending the transformation of a livestock farm in Qormi into two rectangular warehouses in an ODZ location designated as an agricultural zone in the local plan.  

The application was presented by Paul Gauci, owner of Frank Auto Dealers showrooms in Mdina road. 

The previous owner of the site had proposed a farm shop and a visitor attraction on the same site in 2013 but this application was withdrawn.

The MEPA board will tomorrow be discussing this permit, which has the blessing of the Planning Directorate but is opposed by the Environment Directorate.

The MEPA case officer is claiming that substituting the farm with warehouses represents an environmental improvement over the existing management and operation of the site. 

The proposed warehouses at ta’Farzina cover a footprint of approximately 1,300sqm, whereas the proposed open yard covers a footprint of 2,088sqm. The premises include the provision of 13 parking spaces, a reservoir, loading and unloading area, and a refuse collection area. This will replace an existing livestock farm with a built up footprint of 930 sqm. The project foresees the landscaping of the area with 31 trees. 

The Environment Protection Directorate has adamantly opposed the application, arguing that there is no justification for the proposed development in the countryside. It also argued that warehouses should be located in designated industrial areas. It also warned that the approval of this development would create a precedent for more development in this area. 

“Industrial development should be located within designated areas, without further encroachment onto the rural environment,” it argues. 

In a screening report the Directorate noted that although the surrounding area is characterized by industrial uses it is not clear whether all premises in question are covered by a permit. 

But the case officer has invoked the rural policy and design guidelines of 2014 which permit the redevelopment of farms into commercial uses when these constitute an improvement for the environment.

In such cases the applicant has to prove that the building in question either is covered by a permit or was constructed before 1978 and that the new building does not exceed the floor space of the existing building.

The existing building has a footprint of 930 square metres. The warehouses will cover a footprint of 1,300 square metres. But the new building will decrease the floor space (the area covered on different floors) from 1,420 square metres to 1,300 square metres. This is because part of the present building is built over two storeys.

The only permit for the existing farm, which was for a cow shed, was issued in 1962.   The developers claim that the built up area of 1,400 square metres is visible in the 1978 aerial photos, thus effectively legal according to the rural policy. Parts of the farm was also illegally covered by corrugated steel.  

They also argued that the farm is adjacent to two existing warehouses and argued that the farm is incompatible with the surrounding land uses.

The Qormi Local council had objected to the development.

The Local Council insisted that although similar developments exist in the area, this does not necessarily mean that one can add more developments for such use, particularly by converting a farm. This farm is also within an agricultural setting and in an outside development zone. Thus such development could not be considered unless a Planning Control Application is submitted and approved.

Furthermore, the Local Council believes that any proposed development for such farm should have a proposed usage more congruous to the surrounding agricultural setting, such as an agri-tourism project. The application is also being contested by objectors arguing about the applicant’s sole ownership over the land parcel.