Żabbar residents protest, say care home plans will ruin the square

Residents, activists and a minister gathered in Żabbar on Monday morning to express their opposition to a planned home for the elderly in the town’s square.  

The five-storey care home was approved by the Planning Authority in November after being downsized from seven storeys. 

However, councillors, both Labour and Nationalist, say the building will ruin the historic town square. 

Addressing the crowd, Żabbar mayor Jorge Grech said the protest had been endorsed by politicans from both sides of the house, as well as by smaller parties. 

“We believe the building will erase the identity of the area and obstruct the view of fireworks during the town’s feast,” he said, adding that the care home would dominate the skyline, rising around 1.5 metres above existing buildings and creating unsightly third-party walls. 

The project, he said, did not provide adequate space for vehicles such as ambulances and delivery vans that would service the home, and would result in parking spaces being removed. 

Grech said that the church-owned Dar Sagra Familija, across the road from the proposed development, had already been earmarked by the council to become a care home. The building, formerly a children’s home, would have double the number of beds of the proposed home, and had ample parking spaces and a garden.  

“It’s true that Żabbar needs a care home so our elderly can stay in the town, but the quality of care we deliver matters," he said. 

Responding to claims by the project’s developer, Daniel Zahra, that images shared by objectors are misleading and exaggerate the building’s proposed height, Grech said developers had doctored the renders shared by objectors in an attempt to discredit them. 

“The claim that the building’s height will be 17 metres includes the basement,” he said. 

In comments to the media last week, Zahra’s lawyer said that the planned care home would, once built, “complement the square, not uglify it” as it would feature a limestone facade and filigree features. 

However, Grech said the PA’s approval did not mention any guarantees regarding the facade. 

While the plans have attracted opposition from various figures in government and the Labour Party, including Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, Carmelo Abela and PL MEP Alex Agius Saliba, only Caruana, himself from Żabbar, attended the protest. 

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana (right) attended the protest after voicing his opposition to the plans. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier.

Speaking to journalists, the minister said he felt it was his duty to show his support. 

“Given that there are already plans to turn the nearby building into a home for the elderly, I don’t think there is need to disrupt the aesthetics of such a beautiful square.” 

Asked to respond to comments on social media that suggested he only spoke out because Żabbar is one of his constituencies, Caruana said he had never shied away from expressing his views.  

The protest was also endorsed by Momentum, who said the project was one of many that were eroding the character of Malta’s towns.  

“This is thanks to political decisions that were made in the past, which first allowed hotels and then care homes to have an extra two storeys beyond planning limits,” party member Matthew Agius said. 

Agius said it was ironic that Labour MPs were against the project, given they were part of the government that voted in favour of policies that allowed such planning applications.  

He called for "full and transparent" public consultations on these policies similar to one being conducted regarding the two-storey extensions for hotels.

"Until the consultation is concluded and a new policy is established, all related applications must be halted immediately to prevent further irreversible damage,” he said.