The government has confirmed it has given the go-ahead for a road to be built through Żurrieq agricultural land, opening up the area for the building of three-storey residences.
Farmers who till land in an area known as Tal-Bebbux expressed concern with Times of Malta over a planning control application proposing the alignment of a new road connecting Triq il-Kanonku Vinċenz Balzan with Triq l-Imqabba. The application is also proposing residential zoning with a height limitation of three floors plus a semibasement.
Farmers whose families have tilled the land for generations said they were aware that the area, once ODZ, had lost development protection in 2006 through the rationalisation exercise by the government. However, the arable land, which is also lined with trees, was still cultivated and the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development mandates the protection of “good quality agricultural land from development”.
“If anything, considering the increasingly limited arable land in Malta, this is proof that the 2006 local plans are outdated and need to be revised nearly 20 years on,” they added.
The impacted land is split in five. The largest share is public land leased to farmers who are tilling it.
According to Planning Control regulations, in the case of changes to the zoning of land, applicants need to submit a written declaration signed by the owners of at least 75% of the current potential floor area, indicating that they have no objection to the proposed change. In the case of changes to the alignment of roads and buildings in a local plan, the written declaration must be signed by the owners of all the land being affected by the application.
This is proof that the 2006 local plans are outdated and need to be revised nearly 20 years on
Times of Malta asked the Lands Authority whether it had signed a declaration indicating it has no objection to the proposed change and what are the government’s plans for the area.
A spokesperson said the application was meant to establish road formation and height limitation of buildings in an undeveloped property “earmarked for development as far back as 2006, with the approval of the Żurrieq local plan and the rationalisation exercise”.
“The Lands Authority, last year, gave its consent so that the PA may evaluate the PC application being presented,” the spokesperson added.
But the farmers are not the only ones concerned about the changes: nearly 350 objections have been filed since the end of March, with Moviment Graffitti and Għaqda Residenti taż-Żurrieq also objecting to the PC.
Several objectors lamented the “loss of 10,886 square metres of arable and agricultural land” as well as rubble walls and soil.
Others said the fields are at a strategic point between Żurrieq and Qrendi and any development there would remove the “rural boundary” between the two villages.
Some locals, meanwhile, commented that, if developed, the Żrieraq will be deprived of an unbuilt place that, so far, has acted as a viewing point for the village’s fireworks display.
One objector simply put it: “Kindly stop this madness all around Malta before it’s too late”. Another objector blamed an increase in mental health issues in Malta on the lack of clean air and rural areas.
A Moviment Graffitti spokesperson told Times of Malta the government has long maintained that, though it disagrees with the 2006 rationalisation exercise, its hands are tied.
“In the Tal-Bebbux case, this lie has become embarrassingly apparent since half of the area covered by this PC application is government-owned agricultural land tilled by farmers. This means that government pro-actively gave the go-ahead to the developer to submit his application, signalling its intention to give this land to speculators and throw out the farmers.”
The government could stop this development simply by not giving this land to developers, he added.