eNGOs celebrated the “game-changer” appeal win against an approved application permit for the mega-development in Balzan headed by Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli, which has now been revoked.

“It was obvious from the start that a project of this scale was totally incompatible with the surroundings, given that it is located in a flood-risk area facing the Balzan Urban Conservation Area and would add to the existing flooding, pollution and traffic problems in an area which is gridlocked on a daily basis,” Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) coordinator Astrid Vella said.

Vella added that the Environment Planning Commission’s decision should be investigated as it did not consider the strong objections made to refuse this application.

“This decision is in fact based on existing plans and policies, which, sadly, have often been ignored, stretched or misinterpreted in the approval of other projects with similar characteristics,” Din l-Art Helwa executive president Alex Torpiano told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The Planning Authority (PA) had approved an application made by one of Portelli’s companies, CF Developers, last September which would replace the abandoned Dolphin Centre in Balzan. However, this application was revoked after the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) decided in favour of the appellants. The appeal was filed last October by FAA, DLH, Balzan residents and the Balzan local council.

The development would have included 88 residential unit blocks, a retail outlet, a gym, 70 car spaces and 68 basement garages. The site can be found on Triq Guzeppi Frendo, corner with Wied Hal Balzan and Triq il-Kbira.

The application was revoked after the Tribunal agreed with the arguments put forward in the appeal, such as the heavy traffic impact, the heavy burden this will cause on the infrastructure in a place that is prone to flooding, the excessive building height, no mention of conserving historical nymphaeum, and no mention of how mature Ficus trees will be dealt with.

The Malta Independent on Sunday reached out to appellants FAA, DLH and the Balzan local council to get their reactions to this win.

 

FAA – this decision is a ‘game-changer for future mega-project applications’

FAA welcomed EPRT’s decision and called it a “game-changer for future mega-project applications, as it confirms the NGOs' claims that the manipulation of the DC15 regulations to deceitfully raise building heights is not to be taken as a right in every context”.

“FAA condemns the fact that the Planning Authority commission, made up of chairperson Stephania Baldacchino, Perit Anthony Camilleri and Perit Mireille Fsadni totally ignored the residents' and NGOs’ well-founded objections … as well as their proof of infringements on building depth, of their legal right to privacy and the fact that this was a clear case of salami-slicing, as the plans interlock with the applicant's adjoining project.”

“FAA has always maintained that such projects that are clearly in violation of planning regulations should be refused from the start (subject to appeal) rather than wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer euros to further developers' ambitions through the Planning Authority, forcing residents and NGOs to waste years and their savings in battling for their quality of life.”

“FAA reiterates its call for legislation to outlaw the sale of property before all permits and appeals are concluded, a practice that pours money into speculators' accounts but causes great hardship to property buyers.”

“Coming hot on the heels of a recent Law Court decision to revoke a permit for a pencil development, these verdicts are hopefully finally heralding the end of an era of rampant development that has destroyed heritage streetscapes, trampled the rights of residents and undermined the quality of life in Malta and Gozo's towns and villages.”

 

Din l-Art Helwa – ‘one would hope’ this is a reversal of a trend

Asked for DLH’s initial reaction to the decision, Torpiano said that it is “obviously pleased with this decision, not least because the proposed development would really have had a significantly negative effect on the streetscape of this area of Balzan, on the traffic patterns and especially on the residents living nearby, who would have been buried by the massive monolithic proposal”.

“There have been an increasing number of cases where NGOs have had to resort to court action to ensure that existing plans and policies are respected, and it is no surprise to us that the courts have agreed with us because such plans and policies are indeed very clear.”

“One would like to hope that the Commissions and the Tribunal become increasingly conscious of the responsibility they have to ensure the letter and spirit of planning rules are respected – rules which are intended to give everybody a better quality of urban living space and not to enable greedy exploitation of every square metre of space.”

Asked whether it thought that this was a one-off or a reversal of trend, Torpiano said “it is too early to talk of a reversal of trend. But we are allowed to hope”.

Asked whether this appeal was executed better in comparison to other appeals, he said that he disagreed with the implication of this question.

“This suggests that if appeals were better crafted, they would be more successful. In a normal planning environment, it should not depend on the quality of appeals or objections to avoid inappropriate development. It should really be good quality, sensible, decision-taking in favour of the interests of the community and not of the individual developer.”

 

Balzan local council – defending residents from the ‘regression’ of unsustainable development

Balzan mayor Angelo Micallef said that the Council is relieved to see that the sound arguments of NGOs and residents were given their full importance.

“The Council's mission here was always the defence of Ħal Balzan from unsustainable development.”

“This decision means that the residents’ interest has prevailed and that the proposed development, which was not sustainable, will not lead to a decrease in the quality of life of residents. Ħal Balzan is a densely populated village and hence the subject of unsustainable development is high on the agenda of all residents.”

Asked how the Council will make sure that no further unsustainable development proposals will be permitted, Micallef said that the Council understands that Balzan cannot “be frozen in time and that development is a natural part of human progress”. However, he highlighted unsustainable development as being the issue which causes “regression” and not progress.

“The Council will continue to maintain its balanced approach and will continue to strive to try and ensure that development in Hal Balzan is sustainable. This decision and another decision, announced this week within the same street, are encouraging however it is crystal clear that there is still much work to be done and much attention to be made to any potential applications that may threaten to verge onto the unsustainable.”