Permit for PL councillor’s ODZ old people’s home revoked

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has revoked a permit issued in December 2023 for the conversion of a disused livestock farm into a four-storey-old people’s home in the countryside between Naxxar and Għargħur, in close vicinity to the Tal-Laqx windmill and the Semaphore Tower.

The 47-room old people’s home was proposed by Naxxar Labour councillor and minority leader Mario Brincat, a shareholder and co-founder of CE Installations, a local construction firm.

The proposal was approved despite objections from the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which had described the development as “unacceptable ” and  “visually intrusive”.

But the tribunal’s decision leaves a window open for Brincat. The Planning Authority has been asked to reconsider the application from the stage preceding the case officer report, where a recommendation is made on whether the development should be approved or not.

This allows Brincat the opportunity to revise the proposal by downscaling the project in a way that reduces its visual impact.

Environmentalists had argued that the designation of the site as a strategic open gap, where only agricultural development is normally allowed, precludes the development of a residential home.

The appeal was presented by Din l-Art Ħelwa and was represented by lawyer Claire Bonello and architect Tara Cassar.