Developer abandons plans for Swieqi tourist village

Developer Rodrick Fenech owner of Mensija Real Estate Ltd has given up on plans for a 116-room tourist village instead of a cow farm in Wied Ghomor valley in Swieqi, but  will be making another proposal which does not go beyond the footprint of the existing abandoned livestock farm.

Fenech however did not expand on what kind of project he will be proposing to replace what is considered by many an eye sore in a protected valley and rural conservation area permitted in the mid 1970s when planning policies and environmental protection were lacking. MEPA had already  rejected a similar application presented by a previous owner in 1997.

“We are simply not in a position to give further details of the new project as we do not have them,” he said.

According to Fenech the decision not to proceed with the project was taken after MEPA gave him negative feedback on the proposal. 

“Following a negative response from MEPA, we shall not be proceeding.”

The local plan approved in 2006 makes specific reference to the cow farm  ruling out any development which is not “compatible with the site’s rural location, the protected status of the valley and the public’s enjoyment of Wied Għomor for rural recreation.”  The  rural policy approved in 2014 only foresees the development of one single dwelling not exceeding 200 square meters  on the site of abandoned livestock farms.

The developer told MaltaToday that the developers are currently going back to the drawing board and are in the process of creating “a new concept based on different potential alternatives”. 

He is now committed not to propose any building beyond the footprint already occupied by the present abandoned livestock farm.

Asked about the traffic impact of any development on this site Fenech replied any such development would not impact the traffic situation negatively, noting that works are already in progress to widen the main road abutting the site. 

“This widening is meant to cater for the new and large flow of traffic expected to materialize once the Kappara project gets underway. Should our project materialize, these new road facilities will certainly have the capacity to handle the relatively minuscule volume created as a result.”

Fenech is also promising that the project will include an appropriate planning gain for the neighbourhood. “The idea is that part of the project will be dedicated to the enhancement of Swieqi’s social and community life. In this sense, we shall look forward to opening up a dialogue with the local stakeholders and the residents themselves.”

But Fenech insists that as the owners of the land they also have a right to make use of the property. “Just as we are fully cognizant of our legal obligations, and which we bind ourselves to fully fulfill, we are equally aware of the rights we have as property owners, rights which every Maltese citizen in similar circumstances enjoys.”

The botched proposal consisted of 116 rooms for tourist accommodation proposed instead of the abandoned livestock farm in Wied Ghomor valley.

The rooms were included in 48 separate units. The project was proposed over a 19,400 square metre site – the present structure, built over three levels, occupies a footprint of 2,627 square metres and a total floor area of 4,147 square metres.

Plans submitted to MEPA also foresaw a parking area for 70 cars.

The plans also included residential units, pools, a chapel, a palazzo, a spa and a pizzeria.  Sources in MEPA confirmed that judging by the  scale of the development proposed it was extremely unlikely for the authority to consider such a development and the developer could well be trying to make a smaller project more acceptable after proposing a larger one.

The Swieqi local council had objected to the development. Mayor Noel Muscat said that the council would not accept the proposed development of a tourist village in an ODZ valley between Swieqi and neighbouring San Gwann, as the area was becoming increasingly over-developed.

“We don’t have any open spaces in Swieqi; we cannot afford to develop one of the last stretches of green space.”

Front Harsien ODZ had also objected to the proposed development.

"It is inconceivable that an eye sore in the countryside originally approved as a cowshed in 1975 is used as a pretext for tourist development in a valley and rural conservation area", the Front said in a statement issued last week.

A previous application proposing 42 maisonettes in the area, presented by previous owner Raymond Calleja, had been turned down by MEPA in 1997. The decision was reconfirmed in 1998 and 2000. 

The proposal was shot down because the development proposed was outside the development boundaries and is located in a rural conservation area where only development essential to agriculture, or which enhances the areas’ scenic and ecological nature, can be allowed. 

The developer had argued that the existing cow farm is a visual eyesore and the development of villas in the vicinity of the farm threatened its legality due to the rule forbidding livestock farms, which are situated fewer than 200 metres from residences. The owner even claimed that his own farm located in the valley bed was a threat to the water table and a source of pollution.   

MEPA rebutted these arguments, insisting that “if the existing building constitutes an eyesore it should be removed and the site reinstated” to its natural state. MEPA also argued that removing a livestock farm should not serve as a pretext for urban development in the countryside.  

The developer asked for a reconsideration of this decision but the decision was confirmed in 1998. Two years later the refusal was confirmed by the Appeals Tribunal.