Application for interpretation centre near Maqluba sinkhole rejected

A permit application for the development of an interpretation centre near the scenic Maqluba sinkhole in Qrendi was rejected by the Planning Authority’s planning commission on Tuesday.

The application, PA/02570/24, proposed sanctioning a 60 sqm interactive multimedia room and sanitary facilities, as well as the change of use of a pre-1967 agricultural store into an administration office and kitchenette. 

The application also requested a permit for hard landscaping of part of the site to create a refreshment and serving area and the conversion of the entire site into an interpretative centre, together with the planting of olive trees.

The planning commission swiftly rejected the proposal on Tuesday morning.

The applicant was Joseph Cutajar and the architect responsible for the plans was Giorgio Schembri.

According to the case officer’s report, the development was unacceptable because it conflicted with planning policies and had attracted objections from several authorities.

“The proposed development is not acceptable since it was objected to by the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Environment and Resources Authority, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability and the Environmental Health Directorate, and it runs counter to Rural Policy and Design Guidance (2014) and SPED Objectives. “

Several organisations also objected to the application.

Din l-Art Ħelwa raised concerns about the proposed sanctioning of structures and hard landscaping, warning that such development would damage the natural environment.

It said the application “represents the total degradation and ruin of our natural environment, such developments must not be permitted.” The organisation also noted that the proposed office and kitchenette suggested a commercial use of the site.

The Environment and Resources Authority also objected, stating that the application was “considered objectionable from an environmental point of view.”

The authority noted that several of the interventions proposed for sanctioning, including built structures, pools, hard paving, barbecue areas, passageways and a gazebo, had resulted in excessive rural land take-up for recreational and commercial uses in an outside development zone. The site is also subject to an active enforcement notice.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage also raised concerns, noting that the site lies just outside the buffer zone intended to protect the integrity of Il-Maqluba and Il-Wied ta’ San Mattew.

It also referred to “the presence of pre-1968 structures which have been subject to unauthorised works with the construction of illegal structures abutting the property.”

While acknowledging that the proposed activities were intended to respect the surrounding cultural landscape, the superintendence said the illegal structures diminished the quality of what is an almost intact cultural landscape.

This is not the first time that a planning application concerning the site has been rejected.

In 2019, the planning commission also turned down another application submitted by Joseph Chetcuti. That application, PA/05348/18, sought to sanction alterations and additions to a pre-1967 structure, including the construction of an additional room to be used as a store, a tented structure used for summer entertainment, a water feature and paving.

At the time, the PA said: “The proposed sanctioning of the existing structures is not considered to be a genuine agricultural need since the premises are being used for commercial purpose. “

The Maqluba is a sinkhole in Qrendi that formed in 1343 after Malta suffered a particularly severe storm or earthquake.