Polidano incurs €700,000 in fines for Montekristo illegalities since 2013

The Montekristo Estates in Hal Farrug, owned by Charles Polidano, has incurred €700,000 in daily fines on the various illegalities on site over the past years.

Over the past days the Planning Authority has had to intervene again to stop the construction of two tower structures on either side of the main gate to the complex, which are envisaged in a pending application to sanction the illegalities on the same site.  The illegalities consisting in foundation works were reported to the PA by both MaltaToday and the Times of Malta.

Moreover the application to regularise the illegalities at Montekristo, is currently “suspended” and the Planning Authority is still “awaiting further information to enable complete assessment”, a spokesperson confirmed.

The site is the subject of different enforcement notices issued by the PA in the past decade and was the subject of a spectacular direct action in November 2013, undertaken at a time when the new Labour government was the target of criticism by environmentalists over lax policies facilitating over-development.

During the direct action, the PA demolished an unroofed building within the site, subject to an enforcement order issued back in 2010. The building was a 12m-long long concrete store which was soon to be roofed. But a prohibitory injunction filed by Polidano impeded further action by the Authority.

Asked which other illegalities have been removed so far, the PA spokesperson confirmed that in 2016, the developer demolished the ‘Falcon Tower’, a replica De Redin folly that was subject to an enforcement issued in 2008.

Polidano’s zoo, also subject to the same enforcement notice, is still closed to the general public. But other areas within Montekristo Estate are still subject to multiple enforcement notices, with Polidano incurring €700,000 in daily penalties.

The application to regularise the development was presented 11 years ago and is still being assessed.

The application foresees sanctioning the construction of the entrance foyer, an extension to the previously approved bottling plant and winery, the change of use from agricultural land to car parks and the construction of additional multipurpose facilities. The latest plans related to this application were presented in May 2017. Subsequently, no further documentation was presented and the PA is still awaiting more information from the owners before continuing its assessment.

The PA is also still assessing an application presented 10 years ago to sanction illegalities related to the nearby Polidano plant.

The illegalities included in this application include the addition of a third floor and recessed fourth floor to the head office block, the redesign of an approved fuel station whose size was increased to incorporate car wash and tyre inflation bays, and a change-of-use of an approved mechanics garages area to a showroom.

The application has been dormant since 2015 when the latest plans were submitted.