Former university rector gets ODZ winery extension

The Planning Authority has approved a 900 square metre basement extension for a Siggiewi ODZ winery approved in 2012 which belongs to former university rector Juanito Camilleri.

The proposed extension was flagged as being in breach of policy by the case officer and was disowned by Environment Planning Commission chairperson Elisabeth Ellul, who opposed the extension.

Ellul was not present when the approval decision was taken on 8 June and declared her opposition at a meeting during which the board imposed a condition through which Camilleri will have to plant three Gharghar trees on site and donate 100 indigenous trees which will be grown on a public site.

Ellul declared that she would have voted against the proposal had she been present during the first sitting when the application was approved by two votes against one. 

The development of the two-storey winery was originally approved in 2012. 

The new proposal extends the basement from the 253 square metres approved in 2008 to 860 square metres.  

The extended winery, located in the Ta’ Betta estates in Ta’ Bur il-Kbir, which cover 40,000 square metres of land, is set to produce 30,000 bottles of wine a year.

The rural policy approved in 2014 clearly states that basements of wineries should be restricted to the footprint of the building.

Din l-Art Helwa, which objected to the proposal, also pointed out that the current policy limits the maximum floor area of ODZ wineries to 200 square metres.

The case officer notes that the winery as approved in 2012 already exceeds this limit and that the proposed basement went beyond not just the existing buildings but also the approved paved area. 

The case officer also noted that a timber pergola and a wading pool constructed close to the agricultural building were not covered by a permit and had to be removed before any new permit could be issued. But the Agriculture Advisory Committee confirmed the genuine agricultural need for the new development.