Lija council wants tailor-made local plan

The Lija local council yesterday called on the planning authority to draw up a local plan specifically tailored to its locality, which will limit building height to two storeys.

Mayor Ian Castaldi Paris presented Malta Environment and Planning Authority chairman Austin Walker with a document listing several proposals to amend the local plan for Lija.

The proposals are the end result of a consultation process launched among Lija residents, after the council managed to overturn plans for a four-storey development in September. The authority issued a conservation order stopping the construction of the apartment complex well after a permit had been issued.

The council had insisted from the beginning that the development should not be allowed in the town's main thoroughfare, which connects the historic Belvedere to the church.

"The council decided to embark on this ambitious project after Mepa's courageous decision to change the four-storey building to a two-storey one," Dr Castaldi Paris said.

The document also requests scheduling the private and public gardens to protect them from any potential development. The council wants to protect an open space of 40,000 square metres in an area known as Tal-Mirakli, which according to the local plan is open to development.

"To pre-empt any development, we would like to schedule the area as agricultural land or else the authority should draw up a development brief giving clear guidelines on the aesthetics of the buildings," Dr Castaldi Paris said.

The council also proposed limiting all buildings in the Lija area to two storeys as originally requested in 1997. The local plan, issued in 2006, allowed the construction of three-storey buildings and a semi-basement.

"Only the construction of two-storey buildings in Lija should be allowed," he said.

Traffic congestion is one of the locality's most pressing problems. The council called on Mepa to implement a traffic management report for the localities of Lija, Balzan and Mosta, which was commissioned some three years ago.

The document requests an amendment in the local plan to prevent the development of supermarkets and large recreation centres or hostels.

"The council feels this policy should be applied to Lija. It is much better to have smaller and picturesque shops in the village instead of one large supermarket," said Dr Castaldi Paris.

Replying to the mayor's comments, Mr Walker promised that Mepa would carefully examine the council's suggestions and see how they could be taken up.

However, it is a long and complicated process and many of these suggestions, such as limiting the building height, will affect the value of properties, said Mr Walker.

"Everything has to be done with great caution," he said.

Mr Walker praised the council for its initiative and said local councils' input was an important part of the planning process.