The controversial Portomaso project to build 46 high-end luxury bungalows around an artificial lagoon was turned down by the planning authority board after chairman Austin Walker used his casting vote yesterday.
Permit clause specified that there would be no further extensions to the project
Tumas Group proposed to build a car park and bungalows overlooking a lagoon over an area of about 7,500 square metres – a former dump site now covered in vegetation on the foreshore – at the end of Spinola Road in St Julians.
After four hours of debate, the planning authority board was split down the middle with six in favour, including Labour MP Roderick Galdes, and six against. Nationalist MP Joe Falzon was not present.
The debate, mostly involving lawyers representing the developers and residents, hinged on the validity of a clause in the permits for the Portomaso complex, which was first given the green light in 1995.
The clause specified that there would be no further development or extensions to the project. But lawyers for the Fenech family, who own the luxury complex, argued that the local plan for the area, approved 10 years after the Portomaso permit was granted, included the site earmarked for the lagoon and bungalows for development. This meant that the local plan superseded the permit condition, they said.
Residents and environmental groups disagreed, saying an endemic plant, wedgefoot grass, used to grow in the area but had disappeared. It was last seen in 1999. The presence of the plant had raised the possibility of scheduling the area but this had not taken place. The project had been recommended for approval by the planning directorate which said that there was “no overriding scientific, ecological justification” to keep the area as an isolated enclave.
During the discussion, applicant Ray Fenech said the Portomaso project did his family and the country proud and they had held detailed meetings with the planning authority over the project.
“We will never ruin what we built. We are proud of it. I hope every single application is scrutinised by the authority like ours was,” he said. Mr Walker said he had to “get something off his chest” although his comment was not directed at the developers.
“There is this practice of disturbing an area earmarked for protection to then start filing piecemeal applications eating away at the land,” he said. He had harsh words for the planning authority board that allowed the special condition preventing more development, saying he didn’t appreciate the fact that the board members had “their hands tied”. He added, “We are here to honour a decision taken by another board but I would like to think that I have enough grey matter to be able to take a decision on my own.”