Wied Ghomor hotel set for refusal

A proposed 23-room hotel built over five storeys in St Julian’s Wied Ghomor valley will breach planning policies and should therefore be refused, according to the Planning Commission.

The site of the guesthouse, which was previously occupied by a garage of 60 square metres, is located outside the building zone in St Julian’s on the valley side of Wied Ghomor between the Tigullio complex and the Mikiel Anton Vassalli bridge.

The commission referred to a clause in the rural policy that bans "developments which would have an adverse impact on important landscape features", to justify its intention to overturn a recommendation by the case officer to approve the project.

The commission has now ordered the case officer to amend his report to include the reason for refusal.

The case officer report claimed that the guesthouse was in line with the rural policy, which permits any change of use that "results in a wider environmental benefit".

Only two members of the commission were present namely architect Simon Saliba and Carmel Caruana. Elizabeth Ellul who chairs the commission was not present as she was attending the planning board meeting that approved the redevelopment of a hotel at Kalanka in Delimara.

A final decision on the Wied Ghomor development is expected ion 4 April as the board is obliged by law to postpone its vote to another meeting whenever it intends to overturn the original decision.

The site itself abuts a garage and an existing two-storey building, but its development is expected to visually dominate the valley according to the Environment and Resources Authority, which is objecting to the development.

A previous application for residential development on the same site but presented by a different owner had been refused in 2011. The goalposts have since changed with the approval of the new rural policy guidelines in 2014.

In 2015, the Planning Authority granted a permit to demolish the garage and build a 200 square metre villa with pool and semi-basement garage. The development never started.

Front Harsien ODZ said the two-stage exercise used by the developer to apply for a permit was a "piecemeal approach" intended to approve development in this area. The Swieqi local council also objected to the proposal.

The Swieqi council is also objecting to the development because of its visual impact. "This will produce a block which would be totally alien in terms of bulk, form, texture and scale to the rural quality of the context. The grabbing of more protected ODZ land by developers should not be tolerated," the council said.