Property company wants stables in Birguma

Landmark Properties Limited is seeking a permit for the construction of four stables, a tack room, a bedding room, a fodder room and a manure clamp in a rural area in Birguma in Naxxar.

A decision is expected today.

The proposal also includes the creation of a paddock area and the erection of a timber fence delineating the access-way from the existing rural road to the proposed structures. 

The site proposed for development is located outside the development zone, at Ta’ Sqaq il-Hofra, at Birguma, limits of Naxxar. The site is located in area characterised by agricultural land, which is relatively open and unspoilt. 

It is located within a designated Agricultural Area and a buffer zone to a Site of Scientific Importance. 

While the Planning Directorate is calling for the approval of this development, the Environment and Resources Authority is calling on the Planning Authority to refuse the application due to the take up of ODZ land.

ERA has also expressed concerns with regard “to possible future pressures for the conversions and change of use of these structures to other uses and additional development, which are not acceptable within the context”. 

The structures cover a footprint of approximately 96 square metres, have a maximum height of 3.46 metres, and are proposed to be constructed in timber. 

But the case officer recommending approval insisted that the new stables are enclosed within a site already screened by existing third party walls and therefore the development will not create “any additional visual impact to the area in question”. 

In its first meeting to deliberate on the development, the Environment Planning Commission asked the architect to submit veterinary certification with regards to horse ownership. The applicants were asked to revise their plans to ensure that all structures on the site are constructed in timber.