Tourist bungalow complex proposed in ODZ Natura 2000 site in Marsaxlokk

A complex of tourist bungalows has been proposed as a replacement for two existing disused farms inside a Natura 2000 site in Marsaxlokk.

Located in an area known as Il-Ballut, which contains sensitive saline marshlands, the application seeks to demolish two existing disused farms, one which was formerly for pigs and the other for sheep, and construct tourism accommodation at basement and ground floor levels including ancillary facilities plus other additions and alterations.

Indeed, the block plan submitted, as part of the application, shows that the applicants wish to build seven separate bungalows – most with multiple rooms for guests, a private road to cater for the said bungalows and a private pool with a decking area.

The application was filed by the company AMJ Invest with Falzon & Cutajar being the architectural firm behind the project.

The site is located along Triq il-Power Station in Marsaxlokk – a road which continues until it reaches the Delimara power station.

Besides being agricultural land in an Outside Development Zone, Il-Ballut has Natura 2000 protection and is a special area of conservation due to the presence of saline marshlands. It is also protected locally as an area of ecological importance, a site of scientific importance and as a bird sanctuary.

The site itself has an area of around 28,000 sq.m. but according to the public application form, filed by the applicant, the development will only take up 3,874 sq.m. of the same site.

This is the area of land which will be developed, according to the site plan filed as part of the application. Although four significantly sized fields are marked as being part of the property, they do not feature in any of the plans submitted thus far, implying that they may remain untouched as part of this development.

The one field which would be developed as part of these plans will see the construction of seven separate single-floor buildings, which will include a basement level as well.

The block plan also shows plans for a private road, which will cater for five out of these seven buildings and includes plans for a communal pool and decking area.

The public application form states that no renewable energy sources will be used, although plans on some of the buildings show that the applicant intends to use photovoltaic (PV) panels on some of the ceilings.

Because the application was only filed recently – in the second week of April – there is as of yet no recommendation by the Planning Authority’s case officer on whether it should be approved or refused. Likewise, there have not been any external consultations carried out yet, save for one with the Water Services Corporation which merely directed the developer to view certain requirements related to sewage discharge and water run-off.

The Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan however deems that “significant tourism schemes outside the defined opportunity areas [of which there are two in Marsaxlokk] will not be permitted”. This site lies just outside one of those opportunity areas.

The application itself is for an outline development permission rather than a full development permission.

An outline development permission is an approval in principle to a proposed development which is subject to certain reserved matters which need to be included in a subsequent full development application.

It is established legally that an outline permit can be translated into something of a vested right to develop, which cannot be overruled even if a conflicting planning policy was to be enacted. The aforementioned reserved matters should also not be construed as a stumbling block for the issuance of a full permit.

Outline development applications were introduced in 1992 before being abolished in 2010. They were re-introduced by the 2016 Planning Act, to the dismay of many environmental NGOs who had said that it made little sense to approve something in principle without having the full details about the project in hand.

The application is due to be listed in the Government Gazette next week, meaning that interested parties will have the opportunity to file objections to the project, which is numbered PA 3071/22, until 10 June.