Two planning applications are seeking to turn derelict rural ruins that lie beneath the Mdina bastions, outside of development zone, into residences.
The two applications concern two properties known as Ġnien Ħira in Triq l-Għarreqin, Mdina, which seek to develop rural rooms surrounded by agricultural fields into residences spanning 290 and 170 square metres.
In making their case, the applicants claimed the two structures served as farmhouses that were inhabited by two families whose details appear in the electoral registry in 1959, 1961 and 1968, with the site listed as their address.
The controversial Rural Policy and Design guidelines, introduced in 2014, allow structures in ODZ to be redeveloped into residences up to 200 square metres if there is proof the site was used as a residence at any point before 1992. While the policy requires that the dwelling be built legally, it considers any structure built up to 1978 to be legal.
However, the PA’s case officer highlighted some inconsistencies in the proof of residence provided in the case for the first farmhouse, namely that aerial photos of the site taken in 1978 and 1994 show that the roof of the structures had collapsed and rendered it uninhabitable.
The officer also said no further documentation, such as a contract of deeds, nor corresponding site plans or utility bills directly link the site cited in the electoral register to the one in the planning application.
'Proposal will lead to creation of new dwelling outside development zone'
“The proposed use of the building as a residence cannot, therefore, be verified and, thus, the proposal will lead to the creation of a new dwelling outside the development zone,” the case officer said.
The applications, PA/04050/21 and PA/04172/21, were filed by Luke Scicluna Marshall and Mattew Marshall respectively.
The Environment and Resources Authority objected to both applications, saying construction in the area will result in the intensification of development within ODZ on a site within an area of high landscape value, loss of the rural character of the area and the proliferation of development for recreational uses in the area.
Apart from the negative impact on the dense tree and shrub area on the site that would be necessitated by development, ERA also expressed concern that allowing these applications to forge ahead could pave the way for ancillary development. “Should this application be approved, it would set a pretext for further interventions on site, such as further extensions to the dwelling, construction of a pool with ancillaries, provision of parking areas, ancillary infrastructure such as lighting, etc., which will further intensify urban use of ODZ and alter the natural state of the area,” it said.
“In view of the above, this development application is objectionable from an environmental point of view.”
Applications scheduled to be decided on February 23
Both applications were recommended for refusal by their respective case officers and are scheduled to be decided by the planning board on February 23.
A similar application, PA/02436/15, was filed in 2015 seeking to rehabilitate an agricultural room built before 1967 in Triq ta’ Wara s-Sur, in Mdina. Like the Ġnien Ħira properties, this was a dilapidated structure sitting in some fields below Mdina bastions.
Despite being recommended for approval by the case officer, the planning board unanimously refused permission.
The applicant filed an appeal to the decision, which the planning appeals tribunal partially accepted, cancelling the board’s original decision and allowing the applicant to submit new plans. The application appears to be still pending according to the PA’s website.
In 2019, controversial Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli was behind plans to turn a tiny and dilapidated rural room into a sprawling villa in Qala on similar grounds.
The applicants in this case had claimed that the 21-square-metre room had been the habitual residence of an 84-year-old woman who was found dead in the area in 1921.
The Planning Authority, against the recommendation of its own case officer, had approved the permit. However, after a barrage of objections and public criticism, Portelli announced he was voluntarily “renouncing” the permit.