Balzan’s Dolphin Centre: Zoning permit increases ‘risk’ to iconic trees

The future of two iconic ficus trees near the Dolphin Complex in Balzan is at risk, a case officer has warned.

The cautionary is included in the case officer’s report on a zoning application filed by the owners of the Dolphin Complex.

The Planning Authority’s Development Management Directorate is recommending the approval of the zoning application.

The application foresees the creation of an eight-metre-wide public pedestrian footpath connecting Triq il-Kbira with Triq Wied Ħal Balzan, cutting across the Dolphin Complex. But apart from creating this new passage, the proposal also includes a “slight realignment” of the building line on the southern part of the site fronting Triq il-Kbira.

According to the case officer, this “slight change” in alignment will shift the development frontage closer to the public pavement. This will pose “a significant risk to two large mature trees just outside the site”.

Surprisingly, this change went unnoticed by the Environment and Resources Authority, which issued its clearance for the zoning application without even mentioning the fate of the two large trees. The trees host roosting birds whose calls define the area.

While noting that ERA has issued its clearance for the zoning application, the case officer is now recommending a condition “to ensure that these trees are protected or suitably replaced if absolutely necessary”.

The proposed condition states that “the existing trees just outside the site on Triq il-Kbira should be protected,” but “if either of these two trees is damaged during the implementation of any development permission,” they “shall be replaced by other trees as indicated by the Environment and Resources Authority.”

The condition does not stipulate that the replacement trees should be of the same size and age.  Neither does it specifically state that these should be grown in the same place.

The two large and robust trees extend from the façade of the Dolphin Centre across the entire width of Triq il-Kbira, with a diameter of 18 metres. The Ficus microcarpa tree is legally protected when located in urban public open spaces, unless it is “causing any damage or adverse effects” to the surrounding environment.

The new passageway and change in building alignment was proposed by CF Homes, a company partly owned by developer Joseph Portelli, in a zoning application submitted last year after the Environment and Planning Tribunal revoked a permit issued in 2022 for a massive development on  the 4,000sq.m site, located at the junction of Triq il-Kbira and Triq Wied Ħal Balzan, just outside Balzan’s Urban Conservation Area (UCA).

The permit for an 88-apartment complex, gym, and retail shops was revoked by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal in 2023 as it was deemed to be in breach of various planning policies. Subsequently, the developers applied to develop the new eight-metre pedestrian pathway.

This public passage will primarily serve pedestrians, with access restricted by removable bollards to allow only emergency and service vehicles.

As proposed, the new road will traverse the site, increasing the physical separation between the developable footprint and the adjacent residential priority area to the north of the site.

The case officer contends that the new passage will contribute to better-designed facades, thus “eliminating the risk of high blank party walls.”

The application also foresees the relocation and integration of an existing fountain within this new public area.  A final decision on the zoning application is due on 1 April, with the executive council on which ERA is represented, still in time to introduce more stringent conditions to ensure the survival of the two monumental trees.   

The fate of the trees

The fate of the trees was completely ignored in a previous permits issued by the Planning Authority on the site. Neither was the issue ever raised by the Environment and Resources Authority.

In fact, when revoking the original permit in 2023, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) noted that “it is clear that the execution of the permit would have necessitated the cutting off of a substantial part of the mature trees since these extend on the site in question.”

The EPRT even reprimanded the developers for failing to refer to the two trees in the plans they submitted and for claiming that their project would not result in the uprooting of any tree.

In its conclusions, the EPRT ordered the developers to present new plans and reword the application form to indicate the presence of the two large trees. However, it stopped short of calling on them to exclude any negative impact on the trees, limiting itself to asking them to “explore the possibility of an amended design to ensure that the trees are not impacted in a significant way.”

Subsequently, the developers submitted a zoning application to create the new pedestrian passage, which includes a change in the building alignment that will bring development even closer to the two ficus trees, possibly causing their demise.