‘Cemeteries are sacred’ – Zabbar wants no flats near graves

The Ħaż-Żabbar council is objecting to a bizarre request to rezone land earmarked for cemetery expansion, so as to allow the construction of a five-storey block of flats.

In a strongly-worded objection to the Planning Authority, the Żabbar council showed its consternation at the zoning request. “The cemetery is a sacred space and should not be abutting developments.”

The area is the sole part of the village to be designated for expansion of the cemetery in Żabbar. The council said the authorities had to respect the historical value of the site with a buffer zone between the residential area and the graves.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also expressed concern on the proposed development, which would result in an extensive blank party-wall bearing onto the historic cemetery. But instead of objecting to the zoning application, the SCH proposed a 3m buffer zone with a lower, rear elevation to mitigate the visual impact.

The Environmental Resources Authority, whose remit is strictly limited to assessing the environ-mental impact of applications, is not objecting to the application but noted the proposal’s impact on existing mature trees on site. It asked that the developer integrates the trees into the project’s design.

But conservation NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa called the zoning request illegal, because the PA is not al-lowed at law to rezone areas where development is not allowed, into developable areas.

In the past years the PA has turned down any application proposing a change of designation of ODZ (outside development zones) areas into developable ones. In this case, although within the con-fines of the development zone, here development is forbidden by a local plan policy allocating land for cemetery expansion only.

The 1,300sq.m plot, whose trees and shrubs are enclosed by a high wall, would make way for the 17.5m-high residence, despite forming part of a wider green area, if the zoning request is accepted.

This piece of land cannot be developed as it is zoned for potential cemetery expansion in the 2006 local plans, which refers to the rising demand for private graves by people in their own locality. Another plot of agricultural land to the west of the cemetery is also zoned for future graves. Applicant Alexie Tabone said he does not own the entire site but has presented consent forms from the other site owners.

Zoning applications are meant to set development parameters for particular sites, either in cases where developers ask for a change in local plan policies, as is the case for this application, or when these parameters are not clearly established in the local plan.