Ramblers give St Julians apartment plans the boot
The Ramblers’ Association is calling on the planning authority’s board to refuse the proposal to extend the Portomaso development by 46 new apartments.
The site constitutes an ecological zone as well as a buffer zone for the historic entrenchment wall, the association said.
The decision on the controversial application is expected tomorrow. The proposal is to construct the St Julians area between a centuries-old coastal entrenchment wall and the sea. The project was recommended for approval by the case officer.
“If Mepa is truly guided by its own rules, it should uphold them. Refusal should come as a matter of principle in view of the facts that the original permits were given on the explicit condition that the area is left free of urban development for its historical and landscape value,” the association said.
It added that further construction would block off public access to the foreshore – which is a constitutional right – and infringe the Local Plan on density specifications, among other things.
The authority should have investigated the case officer report very seriously, as “the endorsing case officer has downplayed or ignored the policy conditions that strongly militate against the proposal, and has recommended approval, just as in the Tas–Sellum application by the same developer”, the association said.
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ANTHONY PAVIA
Apr 25th, 10:21
MEPA is well known for how it interprets its own regulations. Property development has been Malta's biggest money earner for some time now. Money makes the world go round.
