Għargħur local council and a group of residents have filed an appeal over a permit granted to convert dilapidated rooms into a two-storey dwelling with a swimming pool and surrounding deck area in a cultivated field.
The project in Sqaq Charlotte, most of which is in ODZ, was given the green light in February but two appeals were filed against it.
The permit was granted despite objections by, among others, Din L-Art Ħelwa which insisted the construction should not extend beyond the ODZ boundary and that the dilapidated rooms had historical value and should therefore be restored. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage did not oppose the proposal.
This project will see the dismantling of dilapidated rooms which have a corrugated roof and the subsequent excavation to construct a two-car garage at basement level, with dwelling on ground floor and first floor. It will also include the dismantling of rubble walls and their reconstruction using the same stone as well as the construction of a swimming pool with an underlying reservoir and a surrounding deck area not exceeding 75 square metres.
The site is located at the end of Sqaq Charlotte and lies partly within the Urban Conservation Area and partly in Outside Development Zone. The council said it had not objected in the first place because it was indicated as having been within the development zone.
It further insisted that according to planning policies, development must be three metres away from rubble walls, meaning the plans as proposed could have never been accepted.
Resident Dimitri Gindin, who lives nearby, has filed a separate appeal, insisting that the proposal should never have been allowed since it “clearly reduces a rural open space” and represented “a violation of the natural delineation of the rural confines of the locality and further urban sprawl on the border of the Għargħur urban conservation area.”
He explained that the proposed development, located at the end of a narrow alley along the edge of the urban conservation area, will destroy a rubble wall boundary and will create a blank party wall along the entire garden.
Moreover, the alley, which is just over two metres wide, is not wide enough for vehicular traffic, so a garage at the end of the alley will pose danger for pedestrians.
He therefore called on the tribunal to revoke the permit.