The Malta Developers Association has added its voice to the Environmental Resources Authority's, which opposed the development of a commercial complex in a disused quarry in Marsascala, which lies outside development zones.
It also said that it had the support of other quarry owners, who are also MDA members, as the refusal of similar permits in future would lead to justified complaints of discrimination.
Read: ERA objects to plans for massive Marsascala complex
An application for the development was first submitted in October but was later withdrawn by the developer, after it generated objections from Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Front Ħarsien ODZ and Nature Trust, as well as local residents. The application was then resubmitted in June and was published by the PA for public consultation last week, open until September 22.
The development includes a basement car park, a 3,080 square metre commercial outlet, as well as a restaurant and drive-through at ground level, 2,080 square metres of offices at first-floor level and a landscaped roof.
“Although the rehabilitation of disused quarries is positive, since an abandoned quarry is considered as a lesion in every topographical setup, it should not serve as a trampoline for one to obtain approval of developments that are incongruent in ODZ areas.
“All development, with particular emphasis on ODZ sites, should be in line with existing policies and therefore MDA feels that commercial developments, such as the one being proposed, should not be allowed by being depicted as a rehabilitation of a disused quarry. This proposal is unjustified and would create a dangerous precedent since disused quarries should only be rehabilitated, with the end result being an added environmental benefit after they are used as infill sites for inert material,” it said today.
“MDA always insists on having a level playing field and strongly feels that it would be wrong if one particular quarry owner is given a permit that subsequently cannot be given to all others in similar circumstances.”