Illegal deer farm wants agritourism permit on unspoilt Dwejra farmland

The owner of 89,000sq.m of land beneath the Dwejra fortification lines in Mgarr wants to regularise an illegal deer farm he built by creating an agritourism farm.

Emanuel Ciantar has resurrected plans for the extensive agritourism project he presented two years ago, by requesting that the Planning Authority sanction the irregularities on his land.

The project will include a winery and slaughterhouse, apart from Ciantar’s deer shelters which the PA has already issued an enforcement notice against.

The three parcels of land at Mgarr are not contiguous and therefore should not be considered for agritourism purposes

The Environment and Resources Authority has warned that the extensive project will result in the “the loss of approximately 13,700sq.m of agricultural and rural land for accommodation and other amenities”, including landscaped areas around the proposed buildings.

And the PA’s agricultural advisory committee (AAC) says that deer are not listed among the type of animals for which the 2014 rural policy guidelines would allow nearby accommodation for the breeder. Even plans for the slaughterhouse were described as “too generic and inadequate” by the AAC, which wants details on how the deer meat is going to be cut and processed and where the meat will be sold.

Apart from sanctioning the irregularities, Ciantar wants to build 10 guest rooms, a restaurant, a swimming pool and decking area, a small farm retail outlet, a winery, an olive oil production plant, an animal breeder’s residence and a slaughterhouse.

The project also foresees a vineyard and the planting of olive trees. A similar project had already been proposed in 2016 but the application was later withdrawn, only to be resurrected after the enforcement notice was issued.

Of the total 89,000sq.m, 13,700sq.m are being earmarked for accommodation and amenities, while other lands are indicated for cultivation. These include 26,620sq.m for fodder cultivation, 25,600sq.m for olive and fruit trees and 22,590sq.m for viniculture.

The ERA, however, says the project involves the physical re-engineering of the site topography into a “significantly more formalised layout.”
Ciantar’s architect is former Labour MP Charles Buhagiar, who currently chairs the Building Industry Consultative Council.

The development is being proposed in a rural area, characterised by a stretch of open terraced land right beneath the ridge on which the Dwejra lines, a section of the more extensive Victoria lines, were constructed. The area is scheduled as an Area of High Landscape Value.

The ERA has warned that the site is highly visible from various surrounding areas. “The approval of such development would result in a significant impact on the overall surroundings, including the scenic value of the relatively unspoilt rural environment”.

The project will have to be assessed according to the limits set by the 2014 rural policy which foresees agritourism projects on 67,000sq.m plots of contiguous land. The Planning Authority’s agricultural advisory panel (AAC) has already warned that the project is in breach of the policy, because the land parcels are, in fact, not contiguous, and the footprint of the proposed development is larger than the maximum allowed.

The committee is also objecting to the proposed winery and olive production plant because the applicant is not in possession of 20 tumoli of vines, as required by policy, and is not registered in the olive registry held by the Agriculture Directorate.