The environment watchdog is worried that the government decided to start widening Triq tal-Balal, between Naxxar and San Ġwann, without a permit but the Planning Authority has not yet said if it will take any action.
Questions on the legality of the work arose a few days ago when large tracts of agricultural land were bulldozed to make way for an additional lane.
Read: Trees gone, farmland taken as Tal-Balal gets widened
Prior to these interventions, which are being carried out by two State entities, the Times of Malta established that the project was not covered by a development permit. This was confirmed by Infrastructure Malta, responsible for roadworks, which is working in tandem with Transport Malta.
Replying to questions, a spokesman last week acknowledged that a permit would be required because the project encroached beyond the road’s footprint onto land outside the development zone.
Confirming that the permit had not been issued even though work was already under way, the spokesman noted that the agency was liaising with the PA to get its go-ahead as quickly as possible. In the circumstances, only interventions within the existing footprint were being carried out, he added.
However, barely a few days later trees were being uprooted, rubble walls demolished and agricultural land flattened in preparation for laying the foundations of the extended road.
The regulator was non-committal about the situation: “The Planning Authority is in discussions with Infrastructure Malta and Transport Malta in line with the pending application (PA7469/18) submitted to sanction road-widening works.
“This application has been outlined as urgent, citing national road transport requirements and improved access to the nearby Mater Dei Hospital and the University of Malta,” the PA spokesman said. The spokesman had not replied by the time of writing as to wheteher enforcement action would be taken.
Barely a few days after Transport Malta confirmed the lack of a permit, trees were being uprooted, rubble walls demolished and agricultural land flattened
The documentation submitted so far shows that the development application was filed on July 20, just two weeks before the work started.
Given that large-scale development applications such as this take months to be processed, the government’s target to complete the project by October was met with scepticism in certain quarters. They commented that the rush to meet the deadline risked compromising the mandatory public consultation process intended to allow any potential objectors to make their submissions.
The notice for this development application is scheduled to be published in the newspapers on Wednesday, and the ensuing public consultation period would be open for just eight days – to September 5. This could mean the project would be nearly completed before the planning regulator has evaluated the public’s submissions.
At the time of writing the only feedback given was from the ERA. In a letter to the PA, it noted that the area in question was partly located outside development zone and encroached on agricultural land.
“The ERA also notes with concern that works in the area in question have commenced without development permission,” it said.
It asked the government to carry out a noise study for the sake of identifying the possible mitigation measures at sensitive receptors, such as a school located in Triq tal-Balal. This requirement should be included as a condition of the permit, should the application be approved, the ERA said.
Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
