An application for the building of an elderly home on ODZ land in Naxxar is expected to go before the Planning Authority’s Board on Thursday, with a case officer recommending that it should be approved despite objections from the ERA and the locality’s local council.

The application was filed back in 2017 by the Labour minority leader of the Naxxar local council, Marlon Brincat.  The site, previously known as Summiena Farm, is located on Sqaq l-Imnieqa, Naxxar, less than 100m away from the Gharghur Semaphore tower.

The site is also located just a road away from another home for the elderly that had been built on ODZ land.

The application proposes the demolition of a one-storey building and the construction of a facility for the care of the elderly and nursing home.

“The proposed facility shall consist of 60 beds spread over 47 rooms, over three levels above ground, together with a number of miscellaneous facilities. The proposal also comprises one basement level and includes a soft landscaping scheme for the site. The site area is circa 2,200 square metres, and the proposed development shall occupy a building footprint of approximately 1,020 square metres,” the case officer summarised.

A number of objections to the proposal had been received, including by the Naxxar local council and various NGOs over the years.

The Environment and Resources Authority also objected to the development, saying that “it contributes to further urban development beyond the development zone boundary.”

“The main issues raised through the Environment Impact Assessment screening include impact on landscape character and visual amenity, light pollution, and increase in operational traffic, which would make further inroads into the currently undeveloped area beyond existing settlements of Naxxar and Għargħur,” the case officer’s report reads.

“With respect to landscaping and visual amenity, photomontages were submitted. ERA also objected to the proposal, which it considered would detract from preserving the rural landscape character. However the Development Management Directorate acknowledged that the impact of the building is not deemed to be significant.”

The ERA also argued that the removal of an existing farm building on an ODZ site should not serve as a pretext for a replacement development of urban or industrial nature.

The Agricultural Advisory Committee commented that “the Committee objects in principle to conversions of farms to non-agricultural uses or uses not mentioned in RPDG, 2014. However, it also noted that building existed pre-1978 and hence it has no further comments,” the case officer’s report read.

Describing the surrounding land uses, the case officer states that the predominant land uses in the vicinity of the site are agricultural and residential. “Arable land dominates the area surrounding the site. The Naxxar Urban Area lies immediately to the south of the site. To the south- east of the site, a permit was granted on the 26th July, 2017 for the construction of a home for the elderly.”

The report noted that following the submission of this development application, the applicant was requested by the Planning Authority to carry out a site selection exercise that would consider potential alternative sites for this development.

“The Strategic Plan for Environment and Development, 2015 (SPED) advocates a sequential approach to the use of land, with the aim of ensuring the sustainable use of land resources and the efficient use of available space,” the case officer’s report read.

“The SPED outlines the following sequential approach: Firstly to the re-use of existing developed land and buildings (through change of use); Secondly to re-development of existing developed land and buildings; Finally, where no other feasible alternatives exist, to the use of vacant land,” the case officer noted

In July 2017, the Development Management Directorate recommended the carrying out of a Site Selection Exercise that would consider potential sites for the development of the aging residence, which was submitted.

The first part of this was the search for potential sites within the Development Zone that could be either reused, redeveloped, or developed as an aging residence. The document submitted identified a short-list of four vacant land sites within the Development Zone that could potentially be developed as an aging residence. A Financial Feasibility Study of the four vacant land sites was submitted to the PA in August 2020.

The case officer added that a table which ranked short-list of four vacant land sites within the Development Zone with potential for development as an aging residence was presented.

The feasibility study studied the profitability of the four vacant land sites within the Development Zone, which resulted in a profitability index of less than 1. Hence it was proven that the Net Present Value of the project on these sites is less than its initial investment and they should thus not be considered as potential sites for development of a home for the elderly, the case officer said.

Meanwhile, the site which the development is being proposed on resulted in a profitability index of 7.48.

The case officer noted that ERA's concern regarding the uptake of ODZ land was taken into account. “However the Development Management Directorate notes that the provisions of the SPED have been followed through a site selection exercise, together with a feasibility study.”

 It went on to mention the site selection exercise as explained above. “Thematic Objective 2 of the SPED seeks to ensure the provision of facilities for the care of the elderly and acknowledges the issue of feasibility in the provision of such facilities.”

The case officer therefore recommended that the application be approved.