Hondoq ‘tool shed’ has Qala councillors worried

The Qala local council is objecting to an application by leading Gozitan developer and realtor Paul Scicluna, the owner of Scicluna Enterprises, to build a small “tool shed” in Hondoq ir-Rummien, under the pretext of rebuilding a 20sq.m room of which only a pile of rubble is left.

The councillors fear this would only be the beginning of a new planning saga leading to bigger developments.

The application foresees the “relocation of a previously existing” room by a few metres.

“Qala is constantly being bombarded by speculative planning applications which often serve as a pretext for future applications not just on the site but also to secure access to it and on similar structures in its vicinity,” Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg told MaltaToday.

Scicluna owns nearly 20,000sq.m of land at Hondoq ir-Rummien, on which the tool shed is being proposed. Indeed, the land cannot be developed except through piecemeal applications involving small rural structures which may qualify for redevelopment under the 2014 rural policy. Residents fear that once a permit is issued for a minor development, this may open the gates to future additions as happened in the past on other sites.

During public consultations on the new local plans in 2013, Scicluna had proposed the inclusion of another site in Qala at il-Kuncizzjoni for inclusion in the development zones. The proposal consisted of a luxury retirement complex on the road to Hondoq ir-Rummien, on two-hectare area. The site enjoys panoramic views of Comino. The local council had presented a petition against this proposal.

After stopping this project, the Qala council has consistently objected to coastal applications. In 2018 it successfully opposed a bid to turn a coastal room into a souvenir shop, concerned as it was at piecemeal applications which first saw the owner requesting a permit for an agricultural store.

The council is also objecting to an application to reconstruct a countryside ruin in Tal-Muxi in Qala as a villa, on which a final decision is expected on 1 October.