An application to construct an elderly care home and a sports hostel adjacent to the Marsaxlokk football ground, on land located outside the development zone, has been filed.
The outline development permission application was filed by Marsaxlokk F.C. and is on the site of the Marsaxlokk Football Ground, part of the parking area and public garden, on Triq il-Kavallerizza, Triq il-Port Ruman and Triq tat-Trunciera, the application reads.
It proposes the construction of a sports hostel for team players and seating stands for the existing Marsaxlokk pitch, the excavation and construction of an elderly care home with an integrated and enlarged public garden, the construction of additional facilities for the locality including a sports child care centre, Marsaxlokk social club, shops and a physiotherapy clinic.
This proposal seems to be a scaled down version of a previous application that had been filed in 2020, which had been withdrawn by the applicant. The withdrawn application, which saw many objections from the public, would have also seen a second football pitch constructed above the existing parking area, among other things which are not included in the present application.
The new application which was filed with the Planning Authority this year, has a total site area of 13,225 sqm.
The plans for the elderly care home seem to indicate that it will stand at three floors high (including ground level), and will also include two below ground levels, one of which will include underground parking.
From the plans available, it seems the other building that will house the hostel and other facilities will stand at one or two levels (including ground floor) depending on where one is looking at the building from. It will also include a basement level and a roof-top pool.
A landscaping plan has also been submitted.
According to official Marsaxlokk local plans, the objectives of the area in question are to provide better community, leisure, sports and playground facilities in a landscaped setting. The plan reads that “detailed planning guidance in the form of a development brief will be prepared” for this area. A Planning Authority official confirmed with this newsroom however, that there was a 2007 development brief which was published for consultation, but it was never adopted.
Back in 2016, the Planning Authority had approved the creation of a car park next to the Marsaxlokk football pitch.