Naxxar council objects to PL minority leader’s ODZ project

The Naxxar local council has objected to the application presented by its own councillor and Labour minority leader, Marlon Brincat, to demolish a disused broiler farm and replace it with an old people’s home.

Brincat, one of the owners of the installations firm CE Installations, told MaltaToday that he had already declared his conflict of interest and has since refrained from taking any part in discussions related to the subject in the local council.

In its objection, the council warned that the approval of the elderly home would have wider impacts, including “extensive remedial works” to the rural Sqaq l-Imnieqa to ensure safe access. “The question arises about the suitability of the site as an old people’s home, if there is the need for such extensive modifications to the road network to accommodate the development,” the council said.

The council also claims that the proposal is not in line with the SPED policy, which permits community facilities like old people’s homes outside development zones, but only after adopting the “sequential approach” through which the applicant has to demonstrate to the PA that a suitable site cannot be found within the urban area and development zone.

The council is calling on the PA to ensure that this exercise consider the accessibility of the site by public transport and its proximity to other amenities like shops and the locality’s church.

And while the local plan states that facilities for elderly people should be “conveniently accessible from nearby residential areas”, the council is questioning the suitability of the proposed site “which is relatively distant from the centre of Naxxar and Gharghur.”

The council is insisting that a decision on the development is taken only after the Environment Resources Authority concludes its EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) screening exercise “so that the full extent of the environmental impacts of the development” are identified in an EIA.

Although the application was presented way back in 2017, in its objection sent on 23 May the council states that the application has only “recently come to the attention of the council”.

MaltaToday had revealed the involvement of the council’s minority leader in the proposed development on 16 May. The Gharghur council had objected to the development back in July 2017.

Contacted by MaltaToday, Marlon Brincat made it clear that his involvement in the project was known to the council from the early stages of the development. “As can be ascertained from publicly available minutes, I declared my interest from day one and repeated it every time the subject came up. Indeed I never participated in any council discussion on the subject.”

Asked for his reaction to the council’s objection, Brincat affirmed his willingness to address these concerns. “As a developer I can assure you that we always give due consideration to all objections and concerns that are brought to our attention and, in so far as it is possible, we ensure to address them comprehensively.”