Stables approved in ODZ land in Dingli

The Planning Authority has approved a complex of six stables, a store and a manure clamp on a footprint of 150 square metres of agricultural land in Tal-Imgejjel in Dingli.

The Environment and Resources Authority had decreed the development as “unacceptable” from an environmental point of view, noting that the area was “relatively unspoilt” and that the approval of the structures could “result in the proliferation of new structures” in the area.

But the case officer who recommended approval noted that the 2014 policy regulating stables only excludes protected areas such as Areas of Ecological Importance from such development. The area is identified in the local plan as one of “agricultural value.”

The project will involve the uprooting of five almond trees and will be surrounded by two-metre high rubble walls. But the developer has committed himself to plant six olive trees, six pomegranate trees and nine zafzafa trees.

The owner had presented documents showing that he is a registered horse owner and that his horses are currently hosted in a rented stable in Marsa.