An application to develop a hotel specialising in yoga meditation is being recommended for approval on a massive ODZ property in the limits of Qala owned by Labour’s former Gozo minister Anton Refalo, The Sunday Times of Malta has learned.
This despite 20 years of controversy over the site and vociferous objections to the latest proposal.
Acquired in the early 1990s by Dr Refalo and his wife as a small building set on agricultural land with an idyllic view of Daħlet Qorrot Bay, the property has been turned into a large rural residence through piecemeal developments over the past two decades.
Despite the fact that most of the development carried out, including the building of extra rooms, was originally illegal and followed various enforcement orders issued by the Planning Authority, the Labour MP has always managed to have his sanctions overturned, mostly on appeal, even when the Nationalist Party was occupying office.
ERA is concerned that approval of this proposal would further consolidate uses which are not characteristic of rural areas
The latest application to develop this breathtaking 2,000 square metre site was recently presented by Dr Refalo’s wife, Lina, in an apparent bid to finalise what may well be the couple’s dream project.
The Refalos have asked the Planning Authority to grant them permission to make further internal alterations and change the use of this property from a residential one to a commercial establishment – mainly a 3-star hotel “specialising in yoga meditation and culinary services”.
The last phase of the Refalos’ project includes further changes to the building through the creation of a new basement which will have hotel bedrooms and ancillary facilities.
Despite the objections of the Environmental and Resources Authority and NGOs, including Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and Nature Trust, the Planning Authority’s directorate has already recommended that the Refalos be given the necessary permits to open their hotel.
In a strongly worded objection, the ERA said that the proposed development is of concern and is objectionable in principle.
“ERA is concerned that approval of this proposal would further consolidate uses which are not characteristic of rural areas.
“Although the site is committed the use proposed will indirectly increase the impact on the area in terms of further land take-up for further expansions and traffic.”
Other objectors were not so diplomatic and went straight to the point.
“The existing building is already illegal and it is already a big eyesore,” one objector lamented.
“The sanctioning which happened over the years is disgraceful and if given the go-ahead it will inevitably encourage other developers to try the same sort of thing,” another objector said.
Other objectors referred to the political ramifications, saying the Labour politician appeared to be using his political connections “to bend the rules” and “make a mockery” of the planning process.
However, despite the objections and a long history of illegalities which changed the topography of the site, as can be confirmed by aerial photos taken by the Planning Authority, the development is being recommended for approval.
Dr Refalo served as Labour’s first Gozo Minister until 2017 when Prime Minster Joseph Muscat replaced him with Justyn Caruana.
Following a few months in the political wilderness, he was rehabilitated by the Prime Minister, who appointed him chairman of Heritage Malta – the island’s watchdog on cultural heritage.