The Lija local council has ‘strongly objected’ to a proposed development in the locality, which would see the construction of 65 residential units, comprising of maisonettes, apartments and penthouses as well as 163 garages.

The site is located at St Joseph Farm, which faces two roads, Triq il-Mithna and Triq Depiro-Gourgion, right on the edge of the development zone. The application includes the proposed demolition of existing structures and uprooting of existing vegetation, excavation of 3 basement private parking levels and the construction of 163 garages, 17 maisonettes at level 0, 18 apartments at level 1, 18 apartments at level 2 and overlying 12 penthouses. The application was filed after a Planning Control Application had been approved.

The proposal has seen many objections filed by members of the public.

The council said that the proposed development will serve to “significantly alter” the character and integrity of this area on the edge of the Lija Development Zone.

The council highlights that the density of the development, the intensification of traffic activity in the area, and the visual amenity impacts are considered to be inappropriate.

“The proposed development is not in compliance with the policy objectives for urban / rural fringe areas.” It also highlighted that the proposal goes against certain policy objectives of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) 2015.

It said that, if the proposed development is approved, it will create a precedent for development of a similar nature, with wider implications for the context, character and integrity of the Lija urban / rural fringe, and with the potential to jeopardise the policy direction and objectives for such areas.

 “Whilst the development is residential in nature, the prevailing character of the townscape in this area is single-storey and two-storey detached and semi-detached villas (along Triq il-Mithna) and two-storey townhouses (on Triq Depiro Gourgion). The proposed apartment development of the scale envisaged will introduce to this area a form of development that bears little relationship to the existing townscape context,” the council said.

It reiterated that the location of the site on the interface of the Development Zone and the Outside Development Zone areas. “In this context, the appropriate approach to development on this site would be to ‘transition’ between the urban and rural in respect of density and intensification of use, and in respect of the scale, massing and height of the built form.”

Delving deeper into its concerns regarding traffic, the council said that notwithstanding an over-provision of parking spaces per unit, the impacts on the local road network from the increase in traffic moving into and out of this area will be “considerably detrimental on environmental and residential amenity of a wide area. The approach to and from the site in all directions necessitates vehicles negotiating narrow carriageways, including rural roads and routes through the UCA. There is the need for a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) to properly assess the scale of the impact on the road network. Nevertheless, the movement of traffic generated as a result of this development will have an impact on pedestrian safety, air quality, and the noise climate along the approach routes.”

The council was not alone in its concerns. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) said: “Given the location, any development application proposed on this site should adopt an adequate transitional solution between the rural area in ODZ and the schemed area within the development zone. The SCH therefore recommends a more sensitive treatment in volumes as well as in design, in order to mitigate the impact of such development onto the surrounding landscape.”

The field next to the site in question