The planning permit granted for the extension of the Archbishop’s Seminary in Tal-Virtu’ should be revoked as it was based on a “flawed” report, a group of residents from the area claimed in a judicial protest filed yesterday.
The residents, who have formed an association, called on the planning authority to re-examine the application process – including the Development Planning Report.
The contentious permit, issued in September, is for the demolition of an existing block and the building of a new extension to the seminary school in the scenic Rabat area.
The need for the extension arose from the education reform, under which five Church schools, including the seminary, will invest €20 million in an expansion programme.
But in the judicial protest, the residents complained that the development, which involves a new primary school with 29 new classrooms, a dormitory with 41 beds, six laboratories and a new parking area with 67 slots, would extend the footprint by 430 per cent.
It would also increase the number of students to 825 from 250, while the teaching staff would go up by 60, they said.
They claimed the planning directorate “erroneously recommended” the permit for approval even though it clashes with a number of planning policies, to the moral and material detriment of the association.
Among other things, the development report referred to a document which listed the site as “an area for future school-related facilities expansion”. However, this document did not exist, the residents claimed.
There was a policy which allowed the development of “an ancillary facility to the seminary”. But this stipulated that such extensions should respect the existing buildings and their height, among other things.
The residents also complained that no traffic impact assessment was requested, even though the increased number of schoolchildren would increase congestion in the area.
Also, Tal-Virtu’ was listed as a residential area which restricted development to detached and semi-detached villas, not higher than two storeys, so that the traffic in the area would be “restricted and limited” for the residents.
“However, the decision to permit the development of the proposed car park will encourage external traffic to pass through the streets of Tal-Virtu’. This makes a mockery of the area’s residential priority,” the residents said.
They also pointed out that the planning directorate failed to take into consideration the residents’ rights and considerations and reached “misleading conclusions” which were presented to the board, which approved it.
The residents admitted that they failed to register their objection officially with the planning authority but this, in turn, did not exonerate the planning authority from its legal duties.