Agricultural land abutting the Għargħur urban conservation area is once again in peril after a developer submitted a fresh application to renew a permit to develop the site.
Applicant Joseph Bezzina, through his architect Joseph Attard, has filed a fresh application to build four terraced houses with underlying garages in an ODZ site in Għargħur.
The site has been described as an area of “very high landscape sensitivity” by the Environment and Resources Authority.
The agricultural fields in question have been threatened with development since 2008. Despite being recommended for refusal, the Planning Commission granted a permit in 2015. An application to renew the permit was submitted in 2020 but a third-party appeal against renewal was upheld by the Court of Appeal last February.
In his judgment, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti said the application must be processed in accordance with all new planning policies and guidelines. The site has not been committed by any development and no commencement notice was ever submitted, he noted.
Objectors argued that the fields were “purposely allowed to deteriorate to accommodate this proposed development”. They insist the site is not a vacant plot but land previously used for farming.
It also lies along a popular pedestrian path that leads from the Għargħur urban conservation area in Triq Kromb il-Baħar down to the Victoria Lines. The nearly seamless urban-to-rural nature of this area would be completely obliterated by this proposed development, they say.
One of their main concerns is the creation of a blank wall which would not only become an eyesore in but would also dwarf surrounding buildings.
In its submissions to the Planning Authority, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage noted that it had not been consulted during the processing of the original application.
The SCH said the site – a large tract of agricultural land partly located within the urban conservation area and partly outside the development zone – extends downwards towards the valley overlooking the Grade 1 Victoria Lines.
The Victoria Lines are an area of ecological and scientific importance, and an area of very high landscape sensitivity. These were completed in 1897 and have been placed on the Tentative List for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The Planning Authority is therefore urged to implement its policies to ensure the protection of the natural and cultural landscape. It is opinion of this office that the proposed development also runs counter to planning policies. In view of the above, the superintendence strongly objects to this development application,” the SCH wrote.
The Environment and Resources Authority is also against the project: “This is strongly objectionable from an environmental perspective as the land, which is located beyond the scheme boundary, forms part of a series of agricultural fields that border the urban conservation area of Għargħur and extend down into the valley on to Victoria Lines.”
The Għargħur local council is also objecting.
Residents argue that access to the land is extremely restricted. Sqaq Kromb il-Baħar, which leads to the site, is only about 2.8 metres wide.
“The proposed development goes against numerous policies and legislative constraints while contributing nothing to the area. On the contrary, the proposal will ruin the visual and social fabric of the area. The application for renewal should be dismissed and previous permission PA 0481/13 revoked,” they told the PA.