Old people’s home on Żejtun ODZ land rejected by planning board

An application for a proposed home for the elderly outside the development boundaries in Żejtun was rejected by the planning authority board on Thursday.

All board members voted against the application that proposed a building over three-storeys (including ground floor) and two basement levels.

The development was proposed on ODZ land along Vjal il-Ħamsa u Għoxrin ta’ Novembru, which would serve as access to the site.

The tree-lined road is an entrance point to Żejtun from Triq tal-Barrani. A petrol station is located on the same road.

The site of the proposed old people’s home lies within an agriculture area, according to the case officer’s report.

It occupies an area of circa 1,460sq.m and is currently being utilised as agricultural land. 

Applicant Joseph Theuma justified the proposal on the basis of the need for an old people’s home in the south of Malta, noting that existing homes were fully occupied.

“One can’t expect people who grew up in the south to move to old people’s homes in the north,” he argued.

PA chairperson Vince Cassar replied that the issue at stake was not the need for old people’s home but whether the site in question should be developed as one.

He also noted the absence of a site selection report considering other sites. Theuma insisted that other sites were considered but in most cases the price owners asked for the land was prohibitive.