Last Thursday, a planning application was discussed by the Planning Authority Board, that would have seen a 10 storey (including ground floor) building constructed on the site currently used as the Trade Fair Grounds car park.

The application would have seen 115 apartments built, in addition to some commercial establishments.

The application faced heavy criticism from the public, arguing among other things that that the height is excessive.

ENGOs Moviment Graffitti and FAA said in a statement that they strongly objected to the application.

A decision on the application was put off, as the board was not happy with such a massive development close to the Urban Conservation Area and the applicant opted to suspend the application and revisit the plans. Thankfully logic prevailed, however hopefully the PA would not accept a sprawling low-lying development instead at face value and take into consideration the fact that this is one of the few open spaces left in Naxxar and if accepted, that the parking requirements would need to be catered for.

But this is not the only major development planned for this area. The site of the Trade Fair itself is also planned to be developed.

Currently, a Planning Control application is making its way through the planning process, proposing 47 blocks, between two to five floors each.

Just next to this development, there is also the already approved Naxxar disability hub project.

These developments will see traffic intensify in an area where road connection will prove problematic, given that it is the open space within an already built up area. They will be the cause of congestion, and in such a situation where such intense development will take place on the edge of the urban conservation area, the Planning Authority must take into consideration the current building heights in the area and must take consider the residents who already live around the sites.

The intensification of development there could likely lead to the surrounding areas building up, or at least the parts not in the Urban Conservation Area. They could change the whole layout of this part of Naxxar over the coming years.

These planned projects will be built in one of the few open spaces left in Naxxar.

At the end of the day, while a person has a right to develop their property, people already living in homes that they would have paid to purchase also have a right to live serenely. Massive developments like the aforementioned affect that serenity. One such development is one thing… but three is another. This would require years of construction, excavation, new access roads to be built and by the end of it, could result in heavy traffic to an area which currently does not face such an issue.

The Planning Authority needs to be more sensitive to the views of residents who, ultimately, will need to live with the result of their decision.