The Qormi local council had called on the authorities to protect a garden it says has architectural and environmental value, adjacent to a house that was built more than 270 years ago.

In its objection to an application filed with the Planning Authority by developer Elton Debono, the council insisted that the development will exacerbate flooding problems since the plot is in a flood zone area.

Through his architect Henry Attard, Debono is proposing to demolish the existing boundary wall and structures in the private garden, excavate the garden for 17 garages at basement levels, five shops and a takeaway at ground floor level, an office and 17 apartments on the first, second and third floor as well as another four apartments at the fourth floor receded level.

The site covered by application PA/2542/23 is in Triq il-Wied corner with a new street on Triq Dun Rene Cilia.

The council said developing the garden, which was classified as a formal garden in the local plan, will change the original context of the centuries-old farmhouse. Triq il-Wied is the watercourse for rainwater and cannot take more development, it said.

An elevation of the proposed development, submitted to the PA as part of the project planning application.

Other objectors called on the PA to consider scheduling the building and its garden, given their historic and architectural value and which they refer to as a “historic green enclave”. It is also adjacent to the edge of the urban conservation area. The proposal would see the loss of 27 citrus trees, a fig tree and 2 olive trees.

They held that the development was being proposed just 15 metres from a Grade 1 listed building which includes ship graffiti dating back to the time of the Knights and referred to a PA circular which states that “…the setting is... an essential part of the building and the way in which it is experienced.”

They also referred to PA policies which state that “The notion of immediate, wider and extended context must be taken into consideration especially (but not exclusively) where developments which are larger in terms of height, volume and density than the scale of buildings in the vicinity... are proposed”.

Other policies state that “…an assessment of the setting of Grade 1 scheduled buildings must include all levels of the context - immediate, wider and extended.”

An outline of the development area, as submitted by the developer to the PA. Photo: PA

They said the garden forms an integral feature of the streetscape and surrounding context of the entire area.

They recalled how the Heritage Advisory Committee had, in 2009, objected to a proposed residential development due to the considerable environmental and architectural value of the existing dwelling and its garden. The application was eventually withdrawn by the applicant of the time, Silvio Buttigieg. 

“(With) the overwhelming list of reasons not to grant the permit, therefore, invite the applicant to renovate the heritage in their possession and come to a financial arrangement which is to the benefit of the community as well as themselves, in recognition that planning's ultimate objective is the common good, and they may benefit from this without undermining the community,” one objector wrote in a submission to the PA.

Activists from Moviment Graffitti have urged people to object to the development since the building and its gardens have significant cultural and environmental value.

“This massive development, if approved, will irreversibly harm Ħal Qormi’s characteristics and the residents’ quality of life, as well as set an unacceptable precedent for future building permits,” Moviment Graffitti said on Facebook.

Among those who spoke against the project was district MP and former local councillor Jerome Caruana Cilia.