Din l-Art Helwa appeals old people’s home in Naxxar ODZ

Din l-Art Ħelwa is appealing against the Planning Board’s approval of a three-story high old people’s home with 60 beds in the countryside between Naxxar and Gharghur.

The approved building will replace a long-abandoned one-storey poultry farm and the proposal was put forth by developer and Labour councillor Marlon Brincat.

The primary argument of the appeal, drafted by lawyer Claire Bonello and architect Tara Cassar, asserts that the proposed development violates the local plan, which designates the site as a Strategic Open Gap.

According to this designation, only “essential small-scale utility infrastructure” can be approved, and even in such cases, the scenic value of the area must be respected. Despite this, the Planning Authority’s board approved the development, which is expected to significantly impact the rural landscape, even obscuring the Semaphore Tower from certain viewpoints.

DLH also contends that the development contravenes the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development, the highest-ranking planning policy, which permits residential homes in the ODZ only when “feasible alternatives” in urban areas are not available. The SPED views the use of ODZ land for such purposes as a “last resort.”

In fact, a site selection exercise conducted by the developer identified several sites with the necessary size and suitable connectivity to urban areas. However, these sites were excluded for financial reasons, a factor not addressed in the SPED.

Din l-Art Ħelwa also argues that rural policy only allows the redevelopment of existing ODZ buildings for other purposes when the replacement building will result in an environmental benefit. In this case, the Environmental and Resources Authority not only objected to the development but also warned that it would have adverse effects on the visual amenity and character of the rural landscape.

The e-NGO is also contesting the way the board imposed an “irregular” condition obliging the Naxxar council which had voted against the project to sign a public deed with the developer related to unspecified works to improve the road leading to the site.