Mellieha tourist complex proposal refused

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday turned down an application for an outline development permit for the construction of a tourist village in an area known as Il-Kamp Ta' Ghajn Tuffieha, in Mellieha.

At the same meeting the authority approved the development of a multi-level underground car park in Tigné Square, Sliema.

The Mepa board heard that the holiday complex request - made by Air Malta as the parent company of the Hal Ferh Holiday Company Limited - went against a number of policies and had been recommended for refusal.

The proposed development was located outside the development zone, in an area noted for its ecological, landscape, archaeological and cultural heritage value and which was partially identified for development by the draft north west local plan.

The development also went against a number of Structure Plan development policies and would negatively affect the natural environment of the area, Mepa said.

"Any proposed mitigation measures aimed to address the cultural heritage issues on site are considered secondary to the importance of conserving and protecting the natural assets of the area, which have an overriding importance," a Mepa report presented to the board said.

During the public hearing, Mellieha mayor John Buttigieg said such a project would increase activity in the area and have a negative impact on the beach, which was already full in summer.

He mentioned the ecological importance of the area. This was reiterated by Annalise Falzon, of Nature Trust, who said the organisation opposed the development since it would take up a big expanse of land and the area was also a marine protected area.

An Air Malta representative argued that the site had been handed over to the company through a parliamentary decision taken in 1997, with the aim of having it developed into a tourist complex.

But the application was still refused, on the grounds that a parliamentary resolution does not supersede the law.

Yesterday, the board also approved amendments to plans for the Tigné Plaza Phase, for which a full development permission had already been issued.

The Plaza Phase consists of a number of three-floor high blocks, with each block consisting of retail outlets on the ground floor and residential apartments on the next two floors. The blocks surround a public square constructed over a multi-level underground parking area. It includes a belvedere that has already been approved.

The application proposed changes to the uses of the blocks surrounding the square, a lateral extension of the underground levels and the inclusion of an additional underground parking level.

The Mepa board approved the amendments against a number of conditions.