Rural policy changes have allowed the planning authority to approve a permit outside development zone within a Natura 2000 site and the buffer area protecting the Dingli coastal cliffs, documents show.
The application, submitted by architect Charles Buhagiar, a Labour MP, sought to sanction the construction of an agricultural store and reservoir at Tal-Pitkali area.
This is designated as a zone of high landscape value, a special area of conservation of international importance and having ecological and scientific significance.
The July 2014 changes to the rural policy has led to a string of developments in ODZ. What was occurring in the north, next to the Red Tower in Mellieħa (see picture), was a sample of how rural areas were being bombarded with development applications based on the new rural policy, environmentalists have noted.
The original application by Mr Buhagiar was submitted in January 2006. However, the application did not include drawings showing the proposed development, in line with the policy at the time, and proof that the development to be sanctioned was built prior to 1967. He also failed to provide photos confirming an illegal canopy, parapet wall and concrete paving were removed.
The building could not be sanctioned because it resulted that the applicant only tilled about four tumoli of land. Also, the room was 17 square metres, two square metres more than the maximum allowed by the policy.
Mepa’s development control and environment divisions strongly opposed the proposal. They insisted there was “no valid justification” for the development, which “as a whole appears to be quite extensive” with a design “not necessary for agricultural purposes”, which may be “a pretext to urban development within ODZ”.
There was no valid justification for the development, which as a whole appears to be quite extensive
They also commented that the construction methodology was “out of context with the surrounding rural area” and pointed out that photos indicated other interventions, including “pathways which do not seem related to agricultural purposes”. One particular image indicated the “possible presence of other structures” on site.
The planning watchdog’s natural heritage panel also objected to the proposed project.
The application was refused in September 2006 and a reconsideration was requested. The reconsideration process also recommended refusal. The decision was set for February 13, 2008, a few weeks before the general election. Following a request by the applicant, the hearing was put off.
On September 3, 2008, the application was turned down once more and an appeal was lodged on September 29.
Six years later, during the appeal proceedings, the Environment and Planning Tribunal ordered the planning directorate to reassess the application in terms of the rural policy implemented under the Labour administration.
The new policy takes into account existing storage facilities built before October 1994 when considering applications for the upgrading and modernisation of farms. Last September, the Agricultural Advisory Committee recommended the application be considered “of agricultural benefit”.
As a result, the planning directorate recommended the application be approved, adding that no further mitigation measures in landscaping were required because the existing trees provided “adequate screening” to the store and reservoir.
The permit was finally approved last November 11.
This is the second known case where a development permit in ODZ was issued based on the recommendations of the Agriculture Department that falls under Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.
A permit in ODZ in Siġġiewi was issued for a relative of Bertu Pace, a former Labour MP who now serves as a consultant to Mr Galdes.
The permit was okayed on the basis of a letter by the Agriculture Department that is the subject of an internal investigation following reports about the matter in this newspaper.
caroline.muscat@timesofmalta.com