Mepa auditor slams case officer on Tal-Virtù Seminary extension

The planning authority auditor has described a case officer’s report justifying a massive extension of the Archbishop’s Seminary on the scenic Rabat ridge of Tal-Virtù as an example of “sheer incompetence or abuse”.

In a short but clinical report, Joe Falzon gives a damning dress down of the case officer’s assessment of the extension permit application, criticising the fact that the official flagged all the policies relevant to the case but then “dismissed” them all “in a few lines” without proper consideration.

The auditor exonerates the board which, he says, was “misled” by an “unacceptable report” and points out that it should not be concluded that the application necessarily had to be refused.

The extension, being built to accommodate an expansion of the student population from 250 to 825 and an increase of 60 staff, only drew protests from residents after a permit was issued since they did not seem to have realised an application had been submitted.

The auditor concludes there is no redress he can recommend for their grievance. However, he insists that the case officer and his area manager should shoulder responsibility and be urged to explain their lack of professionalism.

The development extends the floor area of the existing seminary by 430 per cent, and includes the construction of a new primary school with 29 new classrooms, a dormitory, six laboratories and a new parking area with 67 slots.

The Curia defended the project on the basis that the expansion is required by the recent education reform, which promotes continuation between primary and secondary school. The school’s headmaster, Fr David Cilia, had even pointed out that the nearest property was half a kilometre away.

However, residents are anticipating traffic chaos in the quiet residential area, on top of the visual impact the extension will have on the scenic site. In his report, the auditor lays particular emphasis on these two points. The local plan for the area is against further development in the area, unless there is a genuine “need” for it.

However, the auditor states he did not find a single reason to justify this project. The applicant put forward an agreement with the education authorities. However, the auditor points out that nowhere in the agreement is there a requirement for the primary school to be sited next to the secondary school.

“With a drop in the birth rate of nearly 50 per cent in the last 15 years, the construction of new schools, except as replacement for existing buildings considered inadequate, can hardly be justified anywhere,” Mr Falzon points out.

He also heavily criticises the fact that no traffic assessment was undertaken. As with all the other issues, the case officer flagged in his report the relevant traffic policy which requires all projects to have adequate and safe access to arterial roads.

However, the auditor points out, the case officer “does not even bother to consider” the significant increase in students the extension would bring with it.

The officer even wrote that a traffic impact statement would be needed for the project but then “further down in the report the case officer is perfectly satisfied simply because Transport Malta found no objection... even though these limited their comments to the gate at Triq Godwin Ganado”.

Inadequate access to the school is likely to force motorists, including coaches and vans, into the residential area.

The document vindicates residents’ complaints on a number of other points but is unlikely to bring much solace since it cannot stop the works, which are well underway.

Nonetheless, its findings are likely to form part of a legal battle that residents have launched.

When contacted, a Mepa spokesman said the authority was carrying out its own inquiry into the conclusions and recommendations outlined by the Mepa auditor.

“Should it transpire from the investigation that the case officer or the area team manager went beyond their call of duty, the authority will take all the necessary disciplinary action it deems necessary,” the spokesman said.

He added that the Mepa board would appoint an ad hoc commission to investigate this case as it had done in previous similar cases.

(The Sunday Times)