Gharb fields targeted for nursing home in fourth permit request

An application has once again been filed in a bid to build a 68-room nursing home that will protrude outside the building zones in Għarb, Gozo, in what is the fourth attempt to develop this land since 1994.

The latest application was submitted by developer Emanuel Joseph Farrugia, who declared owning the 2,139 sq.m site to the northeast of the Tal-Gidi neighbourhood. Farrugia owns Prime Care Limited, which currently runs St Elizabeth Home in Rabat, Malta.

Half of the rooms and other facilities of the proposed home would fall entirely outside development zone.

The plans, drawn up by architect Alex Bigeni, foresee clearance of a number of tilled fields, to build the four-storey nursing home with two basement levels: 68 rooms, including a chapel and mortuary, a clinic, office, dining area, gym, and 29 car spaces.

The latest application is a downscaled version of a similar one filed in 2022 or a larger 5,300 sq.m tract that was set to include 94 rooms.

The Environment and Resources Authority has objected to the latest application due to the significant encroachment on the ODZ, which would contribute to an urban sprawl resulting in adverse impact on the rural landscape.

The first application, submitted by Anthony Farrugia, dates back to 1994 for a “senior citizen home with all amenities”, refused in 1996. An appeal against this decision also proved unsuccessful.

An outline application for an “old people’s home on two storeys overlying an underground car park” was submitted in 2008 by Michael Farrugia, only for it to be withdrawn by the applicant in 2018.

Emanuel Farrugia submitted another application in 2020, using plans by Bigeni, but this too was withdrawn by the applicant.

The Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development allows the development of elderly homes and health facilities in the ODZ only if developers had previously considered other sites within the development zone or in already committed areas. So far only two residential homes have been approved under this policy, namely the Golden Care home developed by GAP Limited in Naxxar; and another one proposed by Labour councillor Marlon Brincat in the vicinity of the semaphore tower in Naxxar.