Heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa has appealed a decision by the Planning Authority for a block of apartments to be built in rural Sannat, just 300 metres from the edge of the scenic cliffs.
Approved last month, the application, which plans on turning the rural site into a block of 29 apartments with 20 underlying garages on Triq it-Tempju tal-Imramma, is the second of three applications that combined will form a mega-development of 125 flats.
Several entities have criticised this as a tactic to split up a large development and avoid the scrutiny of an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Din l-Art Ħelwa said they were contesting Planning Commission’s decision to approve the development as it exceeded the building height limitations set out in the local plans.
They added that through its approval, this application had permitted a stand-alone swimming pool in an agricultural field outside the development zone to be built. According to plans, this swimming pool would be separated from the apartment block and accessible to passers-by through a public path.
“Its approval is blatantly in breach of the most elementary policies aimed at controlling development in the rural area. The permit should be revoked on this basis alone,” Din l-Art Ħelwa said.
Listing their grounds for appeal, the NGO said that the commission’s decisions to approve the application had failed to adhere to provisions set out in local plans, failed to observe several planning policies and had dismissed the recommendations of consulted experts.
Additionally, they claimed that false statements had been made in the public application form which Din l-Art Ħelwa says was misleading and “jeopardised the adequate and fair processing” of the application.
The applicant had declared that the site was not outside the development zone and that development would not include the felling of trees nor the destruction or alteration of rubble walls. The NGO is saying these statements were incorrect.
'Salami slicing'
“This development is one of several being carried out on the present and larger site and is an intentional fragmentation of development or salami-slicing in order to evade holistic appraisal and an environmental impact assessment in breach of policy,” they said.
In May, Din l-Art Ħelwa appealed the decision to grant permission to the first application for 22 flats with 15 underlying garages and pool on Triq ta’ Bebunaq, which was approved by the Planning Authority in March.
However, in July, the planning tribunal hearing the appeal allowed the developer to begin working on the site, despite one of the grounds for appealing the decision being the loss of soil from the topography.
A third development proposing 73 apartments and 60 garages has yet to be decided by the Planning Authority.
The development requests were filed by architect Saviour Micallef and two of the three applications are being fronted by developer Mark Agius, Gozitan property magnate Joseph Portelli’s business partner.
“The three applications all have the same design and facade treatment and if realised will essentially form one major development in the low-density town of Sannat,” the NGO said.