The Mepa board has approved an application to build a four-star, 87-room hotel in Marsalforn, despite nearly half of the development falling outside development zone boundaries.
The site is located in a residential zone at the bottom end of Rabat Road, with an area of 1,143 square metres, which was already covered by a permit for the construction of an apartment block.
Mepa said yesterday the new hotel would provide the Gozitan tourism market with “quality accommodation development” in accordance with the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels.
Included in the plans is a garden and small pool on agricultural fields in ODZ land behind the hotel, which the project description statement described as “abandoned”.
The area accounts for 45 per cent of the total project footprint, though 13 per cent has already been committed for development.
In recommending the granting of the permit, the case officer noted that hotels do not fall within the list of acceptable land uses within residential areas.
However, the Marsalforn Entertainment Priority Area, within which hotels are deemed acceptable, is located only 40 metres from the site, and the residential area in question also features a number of shops and holiday apartments.
It seems that whenever we want to develop ODZ land we first call it a dumping ground
The case officer noted that the proposed garden and pool area had been redesigned by the developers after the first two designs had been rejected.
The rejected designs included more extensive excavations to account for a significant height disparity with the hotel entrance level, while the new design follows that of a natural Maltese landscape, with extensive landscaping to minimise the visual impact.
Although Mepa policy limits the construction of swimming pools in ODZ to “the curtilage of a legally established accommodation”, the case officer said that, if the hotel back area was approved, the criterion would be fulfilled.
The developers described the 28-square-metre-pool as a “water feature” and added that the garden would facilitate access to the area’s natural environment.
However, board member Victor Axiak attacked the circular reasoning that allowed the extension of the development boundaries for a swimming pool which then allowed for the inclusion of the same swimming pool.
He also criticised the description of the fields as abandoned, adding: “It seems that whenever we want to develop ODZ land we first call it a dumping ground.”
The board imposed a planning gain fee of €10,000 from the developer, which will be used to improve and upgrade other areas of Marsalforn.
Decision postponed
A decision on the renewal of a permit for the extension of the west quay of Terminal 1 at the Malta Freeport was postponed by the board to allow for a more holistic examination of the submissions.
A permit to extend the quay was originally granted in 2007 but the project architect said yesterday that dredging works had taken longer than expected.
The application was met with heavy opposition from the Birżebbuġa local council and residents’ groups, who said noise and vibrations from the construction had already caused undue inconvenience to residents.