PA orders planting of trees along Kalanka wall

A 100 metre long and 1.8 metre high wall has been approved around the derelict Delimara hotel which is now being proposed for re-development as the Kalanka hotel.

The case officer had called on the Environment Planning Commission to refuse the application, arguing that the proposal “will significantly obstruct the picturesque and panoramic views of the area.”

The wall was proposed by Kenneth Abela, a registered farmer and owner of a billboard company, who wants to redevelop the hotel.  

As approved, the wall exceeds the maximum height of 1.2 metres for rubble walls set by law but has been approved on the basis of the rural policy which states that a wall may be constructed up to the height of “adjacent legally-established rubble walls”, even if such height exceeds 1.2 metres. 

The PA imposed a condition obliging the developer to plant an African Tamarisk – a saline resistant shrub which grows up to a height of six metres – every three metres of wall length, and to put an African Wolfbane tree in between each tamarisk.

The Environment and Resources Authority had objected to the proposed wall, insisting that its height should be limited to 1.2 metres and should be integrated in the application for the construction of the new hotel. 

The architect also presented an old survey sheet showing a previously existing wall which will be replaced by the new one.

The architect has argued that the proposed wall is of the same height as adjacent walls. 

But this claim was disputed by the PA officer assessing the case, who argues that the only walls higher than the proposed wall are those on the opposite side of the road which had been constructed for soil retention purposes. 

Last week the Environment Planning Commission approved another application by Kenneth Abela to reinstate land “for agricultural use” and convert illegally developed structures previously used by trappers into an agricultural store. The Environment and Resources Authority had earlier complained that garigue in the area had been covered by soil.