Plans for tourist bungalow complex on protected Żurrieq cliffs get go-ahead
Case officer said proposed bungalows are of 'higher quality' that those currently occupying the area
Plans to build a clifftop tourist accommodation complex in a protected rural area on the outskirts of Żurrieq have been given the go-ahead.
The complex of 14 bungalows with pools with a restaurant and reception area was approved by the Planning Authority.
Under the plans, the existing Garden of Eden wedding venue, comprising reception halls, nightclub, car park and derelict farmhouse will be demolished and excavated to make way for the tourism complex.
The approval comes six years after the greenlighting of a controversial outline development application (PA/06673/20), which granting approval in principle ahead of more detailed plans being submitted. That application drew hundreds of objections.
Heritage body Din l-Art Ħelwa “strongly objected” to the plans, claiming they would lead to more intense commercial activity at the site. BirdLife Malta warned the development would “irreversibly damage” the area home to a breeding colony of protected seabirds.
How the landscape would change under bungalow plans
The application (PA/04861/25) was recommended for approval last month by the PA case officer, with the Planning Board greenlighting the project earlier this month.
The applicant is Baldacchino Holdings. The architect is Ray Demicoli.
'Higher quality'
The case officer noted that the site lies within an Area of Ecological Importance aimed at protecting the cliffs, an Area of High Landscape Value and partly within a Natura 2000 site – a network of protected areas across the EU.
Addressing related visual and environmental concerns, the case officer noted that the proposal would not exceed the area of the current buildings, while the proposed bungalows are of “much higher quality rural design structure” than those currently occupying the area.
Renders of the project show solar panel-equipped sand and brown-coloured bungalows set to be constructed using local limestone and featuring timber screens, with rubble walls also set to be reinstated.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage described the visual impact of the plans as “relatively limited” in its assessment.
'Better integration'
The case officer also noted that the plans had been downscaled to remove a proposed indoor pool, sauna, gym facilities and housekeeping facilities from the basement levels, following consultation with the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA).
“Being a highly environmentally sensitive area, and unlike the present situation, the low profile and the breaking up of the floor area into multiple smaller structures achieves better integration with the context”, the case report read.
The existing car park on the site was illegally developed on the 4,900 square metre area of garigue – Mediterranean low scrubland – and an enforcement notice was issued to the operators in 1998.
In 2018, an application was filed to construct pools and cabanas, ancillary facilities, a reception area, tennis court and car park. This application was later withdrawn, however.
Neither ERA nor the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage objected to the application.
Alongside the outline permit, the applicants also successfully applied to restore a car park across the road, which was built illegally.