Qormi farm’s crops could make way for cars

An abandoned agricultural plot could be turned into a 3,000sq.m ‘temporary’ car park for 75 vehicles, opposite the FXB showroom in Qormi. 

Owner Carmel Bugeja is seeking a change-of-use permit for the disused land outside development zones. But previous permits for the rebuilding of an agricultural store as well as the local plan clearly show that the land was used for farming. 

The application also foresees the planting of trees around the site and a gate. 

The ODZ site is known as Tas-Salib, located at the corner of Triq Ġuże Duca and Triq Marju Pace, near the Ħandaq industrial area. 

Local plans also designate the site as an Agricultural Area, and a Strategic Open Gap, the later deined as “the first step outside urban areas offering a brief respite from the monotone visuals of heavily urbanised landscapes”. 

The car park is being proposed on a site where the Planning Authority had already permitted its previous owner, a registered farmer, to rebuild a 140sq.m agricultural store, later demolished to make way for a secondary road. The site itself was also registered with the Agriculture Directorate.