A court stopped a planning commission yesterday from deciding on a development application to build a chicken farm in the Siġġiewi countryside.\
The warrant was filed by the Siġġiewi local council yesterday morning and upheld hours later by a judge.
The council said it had passed a resolution, which it sent to the planning authority, complaining it had not been notified of the development application.
The site lies outside the development zone, approximately 900 metres away from the Siġġiewi residential scheme in an area known as Ħabel Bellu. It is mainly unspoilt agricultural land and is also occupied by an old rural structure of interest, according to the application’s case report.
In its resolution, the council said the application was not compatible with the rural zone and would have a negative impact on the locality. Farmers also expressed their concern about the project, the council added.
The application is to build a new broiler farm spread over an area of 5,500 square metres.
The planning authority’s case officer at first recommended refusal, citing visual impact as the main concern, particularly in view of the predominantly open unspoilt characteristics of the area.
The proposal was also “in conflict” with the Structure Plan policy, which required that the applicant showed how the development would not harm the area’s scenic value.
“Given that the applicant is already operating a poultry farm, the preferred option is for the applicant to consolidate his operations, either by converting an existing committed site or by extending his existing farm,” the case report said.
In its warrant, the council said a site inspection had been carried out by the planning commission on February 27.
The following day, the case officer changed the report, recommending the project for approval and included a number of conditions to be included in the permit.
However, the council was not notified of the changes to the planning report – especially that the recommendation had changed.
The court accepted to temporarily uphold the council’s request and will hear submissions on the case later this month.