Luqa council protests plan for 250-unit project

A vast tract of undeveloped fields in the vicinity of the Luqa state school has been earmarked for residential development consisting of 35 maisonettes, 187 apartments and 47 penthouses.

The development is being proposed in five separate applications presented by GAP Limited, in an undeveloped area within development zones. 

Luqa local councillors, led by the mayor, have already written to the Planning Authority to voice concerns on these applications.

“Such a large scale development will be removing one of the last rural areas in the locality,” the council warned.

“Our locality – surrounded by industrial areas and the Airport – lacks open spaces that could be utilized for recreational purposes.”

The council is not categorically opposing any development in the area but is calling for “landscaping and embellishment of the area.”

The council has also called on the Planning Authority to assess the five different applications as one, insisting that a project of such magnitude normally requires an EIA (environmental impact assessment).

“The development has been divided into four separate applications for which the Authority may not request such a report,” the council warned.

The council also expressed concern that the development may interfere with the way water is channelled in the surrounding streets, possibly leading to flooding problems.

The site is not protected by any designation and is often subjected to littering. But it is also considered by residents as a lung for the densely populated area.

GAP Limited is currently developing 152 apartments in Tal-Masrija in Mellieha. A subsidiary of the same company also wants to develop an old people’s home in an ODZ (outside development zones) area in Naxxar.