Controversial plans for a souvenir shop at Ħondoq ir-Rummien, which objectors feared would open the door to further development at the bay, have been rejected for a second time, this time at appeal.
The application to convert an existing agricultural store was unanimously rejected by the Planning Commission in March 2017, prompting an appeal by the applicants AAC Ltd, which is fully owned by Ta’ Frenċ Estate Agents.
The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) turned down the appeal on Tuesday, confirming the original decision.
Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg expressed his satisfaction with the tribunal’s decision. “From the very start, people did not believe this was a genuine application for a souvenir shop but the start of speculation and a threat to Ħondoq ir-Rummien,” he told Times of Malta.
Environmental organisations and the Qala local council were among several objecting to the application, which would have maintained the same footprint as the existing store but added timber paving and a rubble wall around the shop.
From the very start, people did not believe this was a genuine application for a souvenir shop
Objectors said approving the project would open the door for the building to be further developed, potentially into a catering establishment.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) had also said the project would have a negative environmental impact and set a precedent for more rural land in the area to be taken up for commercial use.
The tribunal decision comes ahead of the start of a court appeal over a tourist village - including a hotel, villas and apartments - at the same bay.
The 104,000 square metre mega-development by Gozo Prestige Hotels had been unanimously rejected by the Planning Authority board in June 2016, at the end of a 14-year battle by residents and environmental groups who fiercely oppose the project.
But in May, the EPRT upheld an appeal by the developers, ordering the PA to reassess the application on the basis of new plans.
The PA subsequently announced that it would be appealing against the tribunal’s decision.