Marsascala caravan project exempted from EIA

A project to convert 5,775 square metres of undeveloped land to a caravan site next to the 140 illegal beach houses in St Thomas Bay in Marsascala (in an area known as Tal Munxar) has been exempted from environmental impact studies.

Businessman Anthony Pace, owner of Laak Limited, which is involved in the gaming and amusement park business, is proposing the project.

MEPA justified its decision, claiming that a project development statement presented last month already contained enough information and that the project would not have a significant impact on the environment.

Curiously, the EIA was excluded before a formal application was even presented, as the application is still being screened by MEPA. At this stage, MEPA is obliged to inform owners whether a development conforms to local plans or not.

In fact the local plan approved in 2006 states clearly that no extensions to existing beach rooms or additional beach rooms can be permitted until the approval of an Action Plan for the St Thomas Bay area.  But no such plan has been drafted yet. In fact a number of applications to legalise the existing boathouses have been recommended for refusal by the Planning Directorate.

The site falls within the parameters of the area covered by the suggested Action Plan. The applicants claim that the currently proposed project is in line with the objectives of the local plan and will be environmentally friendly and reversible.

The proposal envisages places for nine new caravans and mobile homes and the creation of a swimming pool, a play area, parking and storage facilities and a snack bar.

The site is currently vacant and enclosed by a boundary wall and secured with a steel gate. Vegetation on the site consists of a number of randomly scattered fig trees. A Project Development Statement says that due to the presence of the neighbouring boathouses, the area is ideal for a caravan park.

The area surrounding the site is already being used illegally for caravans and other structures. 

The PDS contends that a well-managed, self-contained caravan park would help in eliminating illegally and randomly placed caravans on public land, littering and the parking of vehicles along the coastline.

The previous government dropped plans for caravan sites in Anchor Bay and in Marsascala after opposition by NGOs.

Quarry project also EIA exempted

MEPA has exempted the proponents of 40 warehouses and 16 garages in ODZ quarries in an area known as Ta' Misra Basili, in the limits of Gharghur, from the obligation to prepare an Environment Planning Statement.

Although punctuated by quarries, the site, which lies between Gharghur and Naxxar to the west and Ibragg and San Gwann to the east, is classified as having a high landscape value.

A Project Description Statement commissioned by the owners of three tracts of land was recently submitted to MEPA.

MEPA concluded that it is unlikely that the project will have any significant environmental impacts. It also concluded that sufficient information was provided in the PDS.

The PDS states that the impact on the landscape and visual amenity is expected to be of "high significance" because of the nature of the development. But the impact on the landscape and visual amenity can be mitigated by a well-designed planting scheme.

The construction works and operations of the proposed development could also be a source of groundwater pollution, since the site is located on a drinking water protection zone. It would require adequate measures with regards to the storage, use, production and transport of hazardous liquids.

The project would also require that the roundabout junction between Triq tal-Balal and Triq Santa Katerina be upgraded to absorb the anticipated increases in network traffic flows and the number of heavy vehicles that would enter and exit Triq Santa Katerina from and to the junction.