Infamous Baħrija gate set for PA refusal

An application to regularise an illegal gate blocking access to the Blata tal-Melħ coastal cliffs in Baħrija should be refused as it is in breach of the rural policy which precludes gates blocking pre-1967 footpaths, a case officer has concluded.

The gate was also found to be in breach of SPED policies securing public access to the coastline. A final decision is now scheduled for 25 February.

The gate, which is blocking public access to the stretch of coastline south of Ras ir-Raħeb and just off Fomm ir-Riħ Bay, was installed illegally early in 2021.

But the PA was prevented from taking enforcement action after an application to “sanction” the gate was presented by Touchstone Limited, a company owned by Baħrija landowners Eliza Limited, which had acquired the land claimed by the feudal title of the Barony of Baħria.

Back in 2005, the company had attempted to evict farmers after buying a 1,500-tumolo parcel from Salvatore Consoli-Palermo-Navarra, whose heirs sold the land for some €2.5 million.

In August 2021 the developers’ architect Robert Musumeci requested a ‘suspension’ of the application, effectively delaying the processing of the application to after 4 February 2022 when the suspension period expired.    A suspension is requested when developers feel they need more time to address the concerns raised by objectors and statutory bodies like the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) during the public consultation process. But no significant changes were made in ‘new’ plans submitted by Musumeci on 1 February.

But in the meantime, the PA could not take any action against the gate as an enforcement notice against it can only be issued when the sanctioning application is rejected.

If the Planning Commission refutes the application as recommended by the case officer, the owners will have no choice but to remove the illegality or face daily fines of up to €50 a day. At this stage, if the owners fail to remove the illegality, the PA can refer the case to its direct action unit, to remove it at the owners’ expense.

But enforcement can be further delayed if an appeal against refusal is presented by the owners. Moreover owners may also appeal against the enforcement order itself. In some cases, other such appeals have dragged on for years.

This planning loophole delaying enforcement action is the direct result of a decision in 2015 to reintroduce the right for developers to sanction developments in the ODZ, including Natura 2000 sites like the Baħrija coastline. The planning reform of 2012, carried out in the twilight of the Gonzi administration, had removed this right after decades of abuse, but then was reintroduced by a Labour government in its planning reforms in 2015.

In his report, the case office also objected to a proposed 90m-long and  1.2m-high rubble wall abutting an existing rural footpath, which would turn the existing footpath in to a corridor. The proposal was deemed to be in breach of the rural policy which only permits new rubble walls to enclose plots of arable land. In this case most of the site consists of garrigue and karstland.

The Environment and Resources Authority had objected to the application, calling it objectionable in principle, while the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage warned that the rubble wall would disrupt the relatively open, scenic nature of the area.