Swatar farmland targeted for seven-storey development

A stretch of farmland along the Birkirkara bypass in Swatar is facing the prospect of seven-storey development.

The land, equivalent in size to 15 football grounds, was added to development zones in the 2006 extension, and is set between St Martin College and Swatar’s residential zone, running along the bypass to create a continuous chain linking Birkirkara, Swatar and Tal-Qroqq.

Various landowners have now filed a planning control application to the Planning Authority that earmarks seven-storey residential development on 70% of the 115,000sq.m added to development zones in the infamous extension of building boundaries by the Gonzi administration in 2006.

New roads and some green areas will occupy the rest of the site.

The enormous site is bounded by Triq Dun Karm bypass, Triq is-Swatar, Triq Indri Grima and Triq Mons. Innocenz Zammit. 

The existing school and football ground are not included in the proposed development. Apart from extensive agricultural fields the area also includes a number of old farmhouses, rubble walls and some dwellings. 

The application does not cover the entire site, which includes a 60,000sq.m. area between the bypass and Triq Sir Anthony Mamo.

The PA is already considering another site in Swatar, between Valley Road behind the Charles Grech outlet, and Triq Indri Grima – an 18,000sq.m agricultural landholding that includes a large number of trees including carob trees. This land was included in the extended building zones on condition that only 50% of the whole site is developed. This application is still being processed by the PA.

Before requesting a development permit, owners of the land added to the development zones must present a ‘planning control application’ to set the zoning, building heights and road network for each site.

In December 2012, just before the start of the electoral campaign, the PA informed owners of these ‘rationalisation’ plots that they had till June 2013 to apply for a planning control permit. Failure to comply would have resulted in the land being spared from development, or with the PA setting its own planning control process for the lands.

But this circular was shelved by the newly-elected Labour government. A PA spokesperson recently confirmed “that there is no deadline until which owners can apply to set the parameters for rationalisation sites through PC applications”.

Since 2013, 35 planning control applications have been presented by owners of sites added to development zones in 2006. The PA received 62 applications before 2013. The PA has yet to process the parameters for what type of planning can take place on 78 other sites.