Amid the scores of development applications, which Mepa is currently speeding to approve before the general election, the authority gave the green light to Lou Bondi’s application on Wednesday to sanction illegalities made over the past years in a town house in Gharghur.

The Planning Directorate, the team of Mepa professionals who analyse development applications and recommend to the board whether or not to approve the proposal, stated that Bondi’s application was “unacceptable” and should be categorically refused.

The directorate advised Mepa “the proposed development is not considered acceptable... together with the sanctioning of the illegalities on site. No development can be approved prior to the correction of these illegalities. The application is therefore recommended for refusal.”

Yet, on Wednesday evening, the Development Control Commission Division C, the board responsible for development applications in Urban Conservation Areas, chose to ignore this recommendation and approved not only the illegalities on site, but also the extension of the townhouse with the addition of more buildings in its traditional central courtyard.

Bondi filed the application on 15 November 2007, through architect Robert Musumeci. Mepa originally scheduled 17 April 2008 as the target date to announce a decision. Yet, contrary to Mepa’s normal time frames for processing such applications, usually around four months, the application was presented to the board a month earlier, on Wednesday.

The townhouse is located in Gharghur’s historic village core, an Urban Conservation Area, where Mepa regulations do not allow developments that can negatively affect the area’s historical character.

When processing Bondi’s application, the Planning Directorate discovered that part of an old masonry wall, which appeared in 1991 maps, was illegally demolished. Moreover, the new application submitted by Bondi asks Mepa to approve the demolition of the rest of the wall. The directorate consulted the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee on the matter. This board stated that developments would be allowed, “on condition that the existing semi-circular boundary wall is retained as existing. No apertures are to be opened in it.” This means that the heritage experts made it clear that the boundary wall, parts of which are already destroyed, should not be demolished.

Yet, in its ruling on Wednesday, the DCC Board stated, “the boundary wall is not considered to have any particular value.”

The Directorate also found out that a number of structures at roof level were built in the last years without first obtaining a development permit.

Bondi also asked Mepa to approve plans to build up the town house’s central courtyard. The Planning Directorate opposed this too, as “the concept of a traditional courtyard house will be lost since the courtyard will be built up.”

Mepa also approved alterations to the house’s façade, even though the directorate stated that Bondi’s proposal for the façade would introduce elements that “detract from the character of a street adorned by buildings of character, such as the one in question. The proposed design of the façade is not an improvement on what exists, thus will result in the degradation of the building fabric.” The DCC Board ignored this recommendation too.

(www.maltastar.com)