The Planning Authority has granted a permit for the redevelopment of a derelict farmhouse in Rabat after the Church backtracked on its original plan to turn it into a habitable three-bedroomed house with a pool in a protected area of archaeological importance.

The plans had drawn objections from the Environment and Resources Authority, which had found them of “significant environmental concern”.

This forced the Church to go back to the drawing board on the one-storey building in Triq il-Buskett, whose purpose is yet to be decided.

In response to the outcry earlier this year, the Church froze its application, PA 7320/21, submitted by its property administrator Roberto Buontempo, and filed a watered-down proposal.

It had originally planned to reconstruct internal walls to change the room layouts, turn a garage into a hall, sitting and dining area, and extend the seating area.

Breeding structures for domestic foul were to be removed, a reservoir constructed with a pool above it and uncultivated fields turned into a cultivated garden.

It had originally planned to reconstruct internal walls to change the room layouts, turn a garage into a hall, sitting and dining area, and extend the seating area

The ERA complained the plans would result in significant uptake of undeveloped rural land, formalisation of the site, intensification of development ODZ, and a change in the natural state of the site to an urban setting.

The farmhouse, which has existed for decades, is owned by the Archbishop’s Estate.

In June 2020, the Church discovered that a trespasser had been using it without a permit for the storage of hay and animals, as well as committing other illegalities on site.

The trespasser was evicted and the Church looked into renovating it.

No pool or outdoor terraces

The new plans, submitted by architect Ramon Gauci, leave out most of the original interventions, including exterior terraces outside the kitchen and dining area and the 20-square metre swimming pool with its 30-square-metre pool area.

Instead, the garden area will be reorganised and improved, retaining a religious theme, while illegal works will be removed.

An archdiocese spokesperson said the revised plans were “in full compliance with planning regulations”.

Decisions on the use of the property “will be taken in due course”, he added.