Environment authority objecting to Santa Lucija home for the elderly

ERA informed Healthmark Care Services that it is objecting to the proposal to avoid urban sprawl and land take-up at the expense of undeveloped rural land

The four-storey home for the elderly is being proposed on 4,472 square metres of ODZ land along Luqa Road.
The four-storey home for the elderly is being proposed on 4,472 square metres of ODZ land along Luqa Road.

The newly set-up Environment and Resources Authority is objecting to a proposed four storey old people’s home in an ODZ area in the vicinity of the Santa Lucija state school.

ERA informed Healthmark Care Services that it is objecting to the proposal “since it would result in urban sprawl and land take-up at the expense of undeveloped rural land”.

The developers were also informed that if they intended to proceed with the project they would have to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

At a meeting organised by the Santa Lucija council in December, 2014 Robert Sarsero, the architect of the proposed old people’s home, revealed that 250 beds could be leased to the government while some 100 could be rented directly by the developer.  

Sarsero, who is also a member of MEPA’s Appeals Tribunal, referred to various precedents where permits for homes for the elderly and other developments were granted in ODZ, a case in point being the home for the elderly in Mellieha.

He said that because the proposed development had a community aim, it would be permissible with the SPED (Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development).

While the site in question is near the Santa Lucija boundary, it falls within the Luqa boundary. The Luqa Local Council some months ago issued a press statement that it opposed such a proposed development on this ODZ site.

The four-storey home for the elderly is being proposed on 4,472 square metres of ODZ land along Luqa Road.

Sarsero filed the application on behalf of applicant Neville Schembri, a director and shareholder in Healthmark Care Services, a company providing home care and support services to seniors and persons who need help at home because of illness or disability.

An online petition, 2,400 signatures strong, is urging the Planning Authority to refuse this application.  In 2007 the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had set a precedent by refusing the construction of 12 maisonettes in the same zone that is now being identified for the development of the private residence for the elderly.

The case officer’s report recommending the refusal of the 2007 application for 12 maisonettes states that the site was designated as an area of agricultural importance, a valley protection zone, a strategic open gap, and an aquifer protection zone in the South Malta Local Plan.

The site also lies within the flight protection zone and is outside the limits of a buffer zone identified for the overhead 33KV power lines.