The archaeological site of the Ta' Ħaġrat temples in Mġarr is threatened by a development application seeking to regularize the unauthorized use of land as a car park, just outside the development zone. The application falls on a site within an Area of Archaeological Importance that is only 60m away from the Megalithic temples. It has in fact been described by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage as being of the highest level of archaeological sensitivity.

The site had been used illegally as a scrapyard for many years. An enforcement order had in fact been issued already back in 1996. The owner of the site had then appealed the enforcement order claiming that he was in the process of applying to regularize his position. Through the assessment of the appeal it had transpired that the application, which the applicant was claiming covered the illegal change of use, was actually a request for the construction of a boundary wall. The members of the Tribunal agreed with the enforcement order and ordered the contravener to stop the illegal use of the site as a scrapyard, and have it cleared within 16 days. The decision was published in April 1998.

Photographic evidence shows that up until 2004 the site had not been cleared. It was only at some point before 2008, close to ten years after the Tribunal’s decision that the scrap was finally (still only partially) removed. However by 2012 waste began to pile up again with the site remaining in more of less the same state up until this day.

In December last year, a new application was filed to the Planning Authority to sanction the use of a portion of this land as a car park for visitors to the auto parts shop, owned by the same applicant, just across the street.

The shop in question, for which the applicant is claiming he requires six parking spaces, is at the very edge of the built-up area of Mġarr. It is by no means a street that can be described as one being subject to heavy traffic loads or intense commercial use that would make on-street parking during business hours problematic. The need for six parking spaces simply cannot be considered necessary.

There are no planning policies that would allow for the conversion of land outside of the development zone into a standalone car-park. In fact, this application can perhaps best be described as an innovate way of converting land that is not zoned for development into one that may be developed by committing the land to some form of non-agricultural use through a seemingly low impact proposal.

The Planning Commission gave strong and clear reasons for its decision to refuse this development application, amongst them, that the proposal goes against the overarching Strategic Plan for Environment and Development since ‘the proposal is not considered legitimate or necessary within the rural area’. The Commission also noted that the proposal ‘would have an adverse impact on Ta Hagrat Temples, which is a World Heritage site’. The request to convert land that is only a stone’s throw away from this archaeological site of international prestige ‘would jeopardise the World Heritage Status of the UNESCO inscription’.

After failing to persuade the Planning Commission, the applicant has now appealed to the Environment and Planning Tribunal.

In this new appeal the applicant is claiming that the existence of parked cars on the site back in 1967 is somehow justification to have this land formally converted into a car park, as if the presence of cars or waste can somehow be deemed a legitimate commitment. The appellant further refers to the site as an infill development, which is quite a stretch unless one of course regards the Megalithic temples themselves as some form of commitment for construction.

Whoever is responsible for the illegal use of this site should not be rewarded through the granting of this development request after illegally making use of this land and blatantly disregarding the law for all these years.

It is now up to the Environment and Planning Tribunal todecide on the legitimacy of this case as well as ensure that the Ta' Ħaġrat Temples are truly protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and not threatened by such brazen requests.

Tara Cassar is an architect focusing on planning policies and environmental issues related to land-use, active with a number of local eNGOs.

[email protected]