A vernacular farmhouse in Gozo is set to be saved from partial demolition, after the Planning Authority instructed the applicant to submit fresh re-zoning plans.
The historic building in Victoria, known as Razzett ta' San Ġużepp, was set to be partially cleared to make way for a new road that would have passed through it.
But in a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, the PA's executive council proposed upgrading an alley beside the farmhouse to allow pedestrian access instead.
A road on the other side of the proposed re-zoned area will also be rebuilt.
The executive council asked the applicant, Joe Cordina, to re-publish fresh plans to that effect. Those plans will again be subject to scrutiny from public authorities and third parties.
PC/00050/17 seeks to rezone the area known as Tal-Belliegħa in Victoria for the development of residential properties with a maximum height of three floors.
The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, e-NGOs, and the Victoria local council were among hundreds who objected to the rezoning application, with most concerns focused on the future of the farmhouse.
"The existing building has cultural heritage in its own right and also forms part of a significant cluster of vernacular buildings that should be retained to preserve the contextual cultural heritage value of the area," the SCH said in its objection.
Victoria's local council argued that the existing building cluster "contributes positively to the streetscape of Triq Dirjanu Lanzon and has always been an intrinsic characteristic of the area known as Tal-Belliegħa, which was a distinct hamlet within the outskirts of Victoria."
Taking to Facebook, cultural heritage NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa Għawdex celebrated Tuesday's outcome. "Historic farmhouse in Belliegħa Victoria, Saved!" the NGO said.
Although the farmhouse appears likely to be saved, objectors noted that open space and agricultural land was still poised to vanish once the area is rezoned for development.
"The proposal is essentially solely intended to introduce a new street in order to attain additional street frontage and therefore increase the development potential of the site," several objectors, including Din L-Art Ħelwa, said.
Development in the land will "create a crippling increase in development density (and) detrimentally impact the community by failing to provide any public open space or amenities, with the proposed 'public space' being reserved for cars," they added.