A number of objections were received by the Planning Authority over an application in San Gwann for apartments which would obliterate a rare World War II observation post.
The defensive structure was purpose-built to mimic a farm building and gain advantage by surprise, should invaders head up the valley to San Gwann. It was the third and final outpost from the coast and has been rated by Heritage Malta as “an integral part of the defence system of Malta during WWII”.
Built by the Royal Engineers, this bomb-proof structure in Emvin Cremona Street boasts ashlar masonry walls supporting a vernacular roof which deserves protection.
Shockingly, but not surprisingly, reference to the existence of the historical building on this site was conveniently left out of the first set of plans presented to the Planning Authority.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage picked up on this omission and insisted that the plans should at least show the presence of the existing historical structure.
One objector notes that a refusal for its demolition would “send a message that our heritage is of importance and value to us all, now and for future generations”.
Others who have filed their objections with the PA have asked that the proposed development be revised to incorporate the military structure and ensure that it is protected and restored.
Another person who objected to the development application reasoned that “anything historical – no matter how big or how small, no matter what era – should not be demolished to give place to something else”.
The San Ġwann council has said, in a submission to the PA, that the demolition would go against the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED) which calls for safeguarding and enhancement of cultural heritage.
Wied Inċita
Loopholes in a solar farm policy have met with criticism lately.
NGO Sustainable Built Environment (Malta) vice president Engineer Cyril Spiteri Staines is wary of proposals such as the one for Wied Inċita quarry:
“I disagree that unused quarries are used for new construction projects or solar farms – they were given to the owners for one purpose only – quarrying. Once this is over they should be used for no other purpose but returned to their previous original state.”
“Our children and their children have the right to enjoy the outdoors like we did when we were kids. Moreover, strategic planning should also be directed to reinstatement of extinguished quarries. Recently, there was an excellent example in the press where the owner returned the quarry to its original state and grew trees on it.”
It seems that anyone who would like to build an industrial park in an exhausted quarry can make an easy game of it.
All the developer need do is create a grassy patch and call it a “family recreational park”.
There is no need to let on that the green area is only about the size of a large roundabout. The public won’t notice until it is too late that barely two per cent of the total development area at Wied Incita quarry has been dedicated to greenery.
The proposed footprint for retail outlets is three times the size of the green patch. That leaves plenty of room for an industrial park in the remaining 90 per cent of the quarry.
The solar farm policy mentions car parks, industrial areas, large scale rooftops and quarries as ideal for solar panels. The developers have decided to go the whole hog with a plan to build a car park, industrial area and large scale rooftop in the quarry at Wied Inċita.
Surely the policy was not meant as an excuse to build more car parks, industrial areas and large scale rooftops?
Solar farms must be decommissioned and the site reinstated to an acceptable use within 30 years of the issuing of the development permit. Infilling would be the appropriate action. However, a token shopping centre tacked on to a 235-garage complex and industrial park would provide a fait accompli which might annul this condition.
If the new policy is to be respected, no development can take place which creates the need for a new or altered access route.
Filling and reinstatement of old quarries to garigue is not so easily done and solar farms would help boost Malta’s renewable energy target.
“I am not against solar farms in quarries,” says Attard councillor Ralph Cassar (AD), “but the illegalities at Wied Inċita quarry have been going on unchecked since at least the 1990s. The terms and conditions of a 1967 emphyteusis deed with the government, which owns the land, have been completely ignored.
“It is one thing installing PV panels and some sort of substation, but using government solar energy schemes as an excuse to turn the area into a built up industrial zone is totally unacceptable.”