Downscaled Balzan project set for approval

After refusing four different Polidano proposals and issuing two enforcement notices against the destruction of heritage features and trees, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is set to approve a downscaled redevelopment project of three  adjacent two-storey townhouses in Triq il-Kbira in Balzan.

The development is being proposed by construction magnate Charles Polidano.

The latest application, which carries the seal of approval by the planning directorate, proposes the restoration of three separate dwellings and the construction of an extension at the back of each, the construction of an outdoor parking area and a pool.

A final decision is expected to be taken by the MEPA board on November 20.

The project is being proposed for approval because it is meant to “conserve three adjacent Grade 2 buildings” and because the interventions proposed are in line with local plan policies.

But the project will involve the take up of 388 square metres of soil from the garden.

The townhouses are scheduled Grade 2 buildings and the gardens are protected by the local plan, which describes these gardens as “urban lungs” and calls for their “conservation, protection and enhancement”. 

How to deal with past illegalities

One major issue facing the MEPA board when taking a decision is whether all illegalities on the site have been remedied prior or during the processing of the application.

This is because the MEPA is not allowed by law to regularise illegalities in listed buildings which have not been addressed before the issue of a new permit.

The planning application itself fails to refer to the regularisation of a number of past illegalities. But the case officer acknowledges the works being proposed will regularise some of them.

Polidano was served with two enforcement orders, one issued in 2004 in view of the demolition of part of a building, walls and other structures in back gardens and another issued in 2012 in view of the uprooting of trees and the pulling down of part of a garden rubble wall. Subsequently the law courts confirmed the validity of these enforcements.

In July 2013 Magistrate Anthony Vella fined Polidano €100,000 for the destruction of trees.

The garden wall collapsed in 2011 after it was left without any support following the illegal demolition of part of the building.

Din l-Art Helwa is also objecting to the proposed project because the application consists in the sanctioning of works carried out illegally in the past, which included the removal of rubble walls and protected trees, to make way for the development.

The NGO pointed out that one of the three dwellings has already been illegally demolished. Din l-Art Helwa pointed out that according to law any application to sanction an illegality in a listed building must be refused if the illegality has not been remedied prior or during the processing of the application. 

But the case officer report refers to a number of remedial works carried out by the developer following the issue of an Emergency Conservation Order by the MEPA in 2012.

The case officer report reveals that Polidano did not respect the timeframes foreseen in the Emergency Conservation Order and that the works carried out included a number of  deviations from what was ordered by MEPA. But according to the case officer, the remedial works were largely satisfactory.

“When one balances the minor departures and the proposed additions and alterations to the properties and the recuperation of the three properties that have been left in a state of disrepair for a decade, the discrepancies are relatively minor.”

But the same report also states that the present application also “seeks to regularize other illegalities,” although “these have not been listed in the development proposal.”  This suggests that a number of illegalities will only be remedied after the approval of the application, something which is not foreseen by the law.

The case officer report simply states that the “sixth schedule” of the Environment and Planning Act, which forbids the sanctioning of illegalities on scheduled buildings, is not applicable to this case.

MEPA is proposing a €46,000 bank guarantee as insurance against any further illegalities.

This sum is deemed too low by residents who have sent a letter objecting to the permit.

“This is risible and definitely not a deterrent, especially with regard to an area which has been subjected by the applicant to such wilful devastation.”

An application to demolish the three listed buildings was rejected by MEPA in 2004. In 2005 Polidano first proposed replacing the townhouses with 14 maisonettes but the application was withdrawn after a negative recommendation by the Planning Directorate.

Subsequently this was replaced with an application for 43 apartments. This application was turned down in 2009. An application to replace the dwellings with six terraced houses was turned down in 2011. The latest application proposes an extension of the three dwellings by building over part of the existing garden.