Almost 200 new apartments spread across several development applications are planned for an area of fields in Safi, with the locality's council warning that if all of these are accepted and built, it will increase the village's population by a third.

The developments are planned for an area known as T'Amparell in Safi which up until now is made up of mostly fields.

The area, however, is within the development zone, and a Planning Control application which set out the boundaries of permitted developments for the area was approved by the Planning Authority in April 2025.

The Safi Local Council had vehemently objected to the granting of the permit and appealed its approval with the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.  The appeal however was refused, and the council then filed an appeal in Court.

That has not stopped several applications from being filed for the area by the developer who was behind the initial Planning Control application in the first place.

CF Developers Ltd, fronted by Clifton Cassar, had applied for the Planning Control application and a subsidiary company titled CF Homes Ltd is behind three separate development applications that would cumulatively see the construction of 181 new residential units.

The largest of the development applications would see the excavation of three fields to instead construct 93 garage spaces across two basement levels, three ground-floor shops, and 85 residential units spread across four levels, one of which is receded.

Another application proposes the construction of a substation, 81 garages spread across two basement levels, a shop, and 74 residential units which includes 14 maisonettes and 12 penthouses with pools.

The third application proposes the construction of 19 garages, and 22 apartments from ground floor including four maisonettes and three penthouses with pools and jacuzzis.

The applications were filed separately, but within a couple of days of each other at the end of April this year.  Maria Schembri Grima, who served as the CEO of the Building and Construction Authority between 2021 and 2023, is the architect for all three of the proposed developments.

The area is known to be archaeologically sensitive, and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) had said in consultations on the Planning Control application that the area was actually being archaeologically evaluated at that time.

Several features including a catacomb, possible ashlar remains, agricultural trenches, and quarrying have already been discovered, the SCH had said. 

The SCH had also said that existing vernacular structures on the site should be retained, but the project architect replied with a letter justifying the removal of one such structure.  The SCH in turn said that it "takes cognisance of the specific scenario and the challenges of integrating them within the holistic development which is being proposed" and therefore allowed the structure to be removed as long as its compensated for by a suitable Heritage Obligation.

The SCH therefore had no objection to the planning control application back then, and neither did the Environment and Resources Authority, which had simply noted that the area was within the Development Zone and therefore it had "no environmental concerns."

The local council meanwhile has said that it will strongly object to the "massive applications" and noted that it has an appeal on the Planning Control application for the area pending before the courts.

The council emphasised that before any development is considered, there must be a plan behind it.

"Ħal Safi cannot cope with this massive development which will see a total of around 350 apartments built in the T'Amparell zone," the council said.

"This means that the population will increase by a third over the current population of Ħal Safi, which will create an enormous burden on the services, infrastructure, traffic, environment, and particular identity of the locality," the council said.

The council called on the Planning Authority to consider development in this area in a holistic manner and commission a master plan together with an environmental impact strategy together with several other measures.

"This is without prejudice on whether development permits should even be approved in this area," the council said.

An organisation representing residents of Safi also encouraged people to object to the plans.