Polidano wants illegal Safi boundary wall regularised

Construction magnate Charles Polidano has applied for the regularisation of a 2.9m-high boundary wall and a gate that encloses a 3,329 sq.m site outside development zones, in the vicinity of Safi’s Lidl supermarket.

The site had been earmarked for the development of a neo-classical villa in a previous application, which was later withdrawn.

The application comes in the wake of an enforcement order against the illegal construction of the wall and foundation works, which was issued last year.

In the application, the field enclosed by the wall is described as “an infill site” due to its location between residential development on one side and the Lidl supermarket directly adjacent to it. The area is characterised by agricultural fields.

The Planning Authority had controversially approved the Lidl supermarket in Safi, constructed by Polidano himself in 2007, a decision that had then been condemned by the PA’s internal ombudsman, leading to the en masse resignation of the planning commission responsible for the decision.

ERA had opposed the development of a villa in this site, noting that the location of the site between existing developments “should not be used as a pretext to gain further development permissions and expanding the range of land uses in this agricultural area”.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also called for an archaeological investigation of the site, recalling that it had expressed concern on the archaeological sensitivity of land where the adjacent supermarket was built.