New 131 room hotel complex proposed instead of Swieqi cow farm

An application has been submitted to redevelop an unsightly cow farm located in a buffer zone for a protected Area of Ecological Importance along the Wied Ghomor valley in an area known as Tal-Francis in Swieqi.

The hotel proposal  described as an “agri tourism” , consists of 131 rooms over seven levels and two underlying parking levels. Plans show the development being terraced along the topography of the area rising to a maximum of five storeys above street levels.  A pool with decking area is also being proposed.

A master plan for the site shows the proposed development largely limited to the area occupied by the cow farm.

The application is still at the initial stage and plans are still being assessed by the Environment and Resources Authority which has to decide whether an Environment Impact Assessment is required.

The development, is being proposed by Rodrick Fenech, who owns Mensija Real Estate Ltd who had already presented an application in 2016 foreseeing a  116-room tourist village.

The application was withdrawn following a public uproar and negative feedback from the Planning Authority.

In 2018, another application was submitted by Fenech which included “the rehabilitation of abandoned building”  and its redevelopment as offices. The application foresaw an “interpretation centre that will be available to all NGOs” and the promotion of paths from the valley to the shore in Spinola Bay. However, two years later the application was withdrawn.

The ERA had immediately shot down the proposal insisting that the construction of offices outside the development zone in an  Area of Ecological Importance is “inappropriate and unacceptable from an environmental point of view.”

The PA had already rejected two other applications presented by other owners.

The local plan approved in 2006 makes specific reference to the cow farm  ruling out any development which is not “compatible with the site’s rural location, the protected status of the valley and the public’s enjoyment of Wied Għomor for rural recreation.”  The  rural policy approved in 2014 only foresees the development of one single dwelling not exceeding 200 square meters  on the site of abandoned livestock farms.

The original permit to construct a “cowshed” on an existing farm dates back to September 1975.  The built up area occupies 1,300 square metres and part of the building is four storeys high.

A previous application proposing 42 maisonettes in the area presented by previous owner Raymond Calleja had been turned down by MEPA in 1997. The decision was reconfirmed in 1998 and 2000.

The proposal was shot down because the development proposed was outside the development boundaries and is located in a rural conservation area where only development essential to agriculture, or which enhances the areas’ scenic and ecological nature, can be allowed.

The developer had argued that the existing cow farm is a visual eyesore and the development of villas in the vicinity of the farm threatened its legality due to the rule forbidding livestock farms, which lie fewer than 200 metres from residences.

The owner even claimed that his own farm located in the valley bed was a threat to the water table and a source of pollution.

MEPA rebutted these arguments, insisting that “if the existing building constitutes an eyesore it should be removed and the site reinstated” to its natural state. MEPA also argued that removing a livestock farm should not serve as a pretext for urban development in the countryside.

The developer asked for a reconsideration of this decision but the decision was confirmed in 1998. Two years later the refusal was confirmed by the Appeals Tribunal. An application presented by Dian Calleja in 2010 was withdrawn.