A permit has been approved for the construction of a new house on fertile agricultural land in an Outside Development Zone in Siġġiewi, issued in the name of a relative of a consultant to the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture.

A 25 square metre garage on the land is to be demolished and according to the permit this will create a driveway leading up to a 280 sq m house on agricultural fields.

The application was submitted in the name of Roderick Farrugia, who is the son-in-law of the consultant, Albert (known as Bertu) Pace, a former Labour MP.

The architect in the application was Labour MP Charles Buhagiar, who is the executive chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council.

Mr Pace was appointed adviser to Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes soon after the Labour Party came to power. The new development on ODZ land will occur in an area known as Ta’ Sant Andrija – planning policies identify it as an area of agricultural value.

Mepa said house would replace ‘permitted farm’

The permit was approved despite objections from the Natural Heritage Advisory committee and the environmental committee.

However, Mepa justified it on the grounds that the new house would replace a “permitted farm” no longer used.

Mepa’s case officer had recommended that the permit be refused, saying evidence needed to be presented by the applicant that there had actually been a farm on site which had not been operating for at least 10 years.

The case officer’s report refers to a sworn statement given to Mepa by the previous owner of the property declaring the land was used as a poultry farm between 1988 and 2000 – despite the fact that the structure on site, which does not appear to have ventilation, seems unsuitable for such an operation.

Mepa justified it on the grounds that the new house would replace a “permitted farm” no longer used

Whatever evidence was presented to justify its previous use was not made available to the public in the list of documents related to the case, despite the justification for the permit’s approval having relied on these documents.

When contacted, Mr Buhagiar told the Times of Malta that new evidence was presented to Mepa’s EPC board during the hearing. He was, however, not sure of its contents because he did not have a copy but he said he believed the Agriculture Department, which falls under Mr Galdes, had stepped in at the 11th hour and confirmed the place used to be a poultry farm.

Residents in the area who spoke to the Times of Malta said they never knew it to be a farm and always thought the structure there was related to the adjacent public water reservoir.

“Many people here regularly go to that reservoir and take water for different needs. We thought the building next to it was connected and stored related equipment,” a resident said.

The case officer report noted that the “permit that had been issued was for a garage for private cars [not livestock farm]” and this in a different location from the existing building on site.

The case officer further noted that the sworn statement provided could not “be considered as valid since it was not adequately signed and rubber stamped by a notary”.

The new house will be surrounded by extensive paved and landscaped areas, a driveway and three entrances.

Calls made to Mr Pace yesterday remained unanswered.

cmuscat@timesofmalta.com