A group of NGOs is urging the Planning Authority to turn down an application for the building of a warehouse complex instead of a farm outside the development zone at Ħal Farruġ.
They said that over 600 objections have been made since the application was first filed in 2018.
The 11 NGOs listed various reasons why the application should be turned down. They said that it is not true that the farm is not used anymore, since animals are still being kept on site. Planning policy stipulates that a farm must not have been used for 10 years before it can be demolished.
"Moreover, even if this were so, according to the Rural Policy and Design Guidance, a farm cannot be demolished and/or converted to any development of industrial use," the NGOs said.
Furthermore, a section of the land is arable.
The application also runs counter to another policy which states that for such a development to take place, it must already be serviced by a road network. No such thing exists in Ħal-Farruġ, a quiet area where not even a grocery is allowed, the NGOs said.
A traffic impact assessment had found this project to be unsustainable “due to the additional unplanned impacts it will have on already congested strategic roads in the area”.
The NGOs also observed that the development application features a car park within a disused quarry. Yet most of the quarry was restored into arable land with several mature trees quite a few years ago. "Should this development be allowed, all the trees will have to be uprooted, and coupled with the loss of arable land, there is no environmental benefit that can come out of the industrial project," they said.
Furthermore, the site where the farm is located lies within a beautiful, unspoilt valley. A complex of warehouses would not only be an eyesore, but would destroy the landscaping of the surrounding area.
The application is being recommended for refusal by the PA’s case officer.
The statement was signed by, ACT, BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Extinction Rebellion Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta
Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Ramblers’ Association of Malta, Rota
and The Archaeological Society Malta.