The planning authority has rejected a controversial application for the building of 15 apartments that would have encroached on a villa neighbourhood in Balzan.

Several families from the surrounding area had protested against this application, arguing there was an error in the local plan which converted a wedge of land reserved for villas into one for terraced houses and apartments.

They have been contesting this development since 2005 and last year 28 families filed a judicial protest asking the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to correct the mistake.

The application, rejected last week, was for the building of two blocks in St Francis Street, corner with St Gabriel Street.

Mepa's board decided the application should be turned down because of the major impact it would have had on the area. The decision came after the planning directorate recommended the permit for approval since the conditions it made to the applicant had been met.

"This is a victory for the residents, because this means Mepa can now re-zone the area back to one for just villas. If they had approved the permit, this would not have been possible," Kenneth Bartolo, one of the neighbours, told The Times after the decision was taken.

Explaining why the board refused the permit, Mepa chairman Austin Walker said the building's impact would have been unacceptable. He added that, like other local plans, this one would be reviewed and any gaps reassessed.

The Balzan local council had requested the re-zoning of the area by saying Mepa officials had misinterpreted the Temporary Provision Schemes charts, partly done in water colours, enabling terraced houses to be built in a villa area.

The council had said the residents would be paying dearly for this mistake since the proposed five-storey development would dwarf the existing two-storey villas and one-storey bungalows on either side, cutting off light, invading privacy and failing to integrate within the quiet area.

Just one Mepa board member voted in favour of the permit while an overwhelming seven voted against. The decision was met with loud applause from the neighbours who were present at the hearing.

The applicant's architect refused to comment.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com