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Julian Manduca
An area of countryside that was considered a buffer zone between Santa Maria Estate with Tas Sellum is to be developed in a project which will see more than 100 luxury apartments being built.
Developer George Fenech first applied for a hotel and was granted permission. More recently, however, Fenech decided against building a hotel, probably realising that Malta is oversupplied, and applied for a change of use to build a residential development.
Given that he already had a building permit for a hotel, a permit was granted and development has started, as our pictures show.
The development is in a so-called ‘white area,’ according to the Temporary Building Schemes of 1988, but residents in the vicinity expected it to be retained as countryside.
When MaltaToday contacted MEPA to ask about the rationale behind the type of development suggested, the reply was: “MEPA found that this comprehensive development was beneficial to the area, rather then have sporadic development applications on this site.”
Although the 1988 schemes had heavily overestimated - by some 40,000 - the number of dwellings we needed, nothing has been done to stagger the building development.
At the same time several tourism developments have been granted planning permission in areas that are outside development zones.
According to the 1988 schemes, the Santa Maria estate was to be all bungalows, so as to retain its beauty and prestige, while in the Tas-Sellum area development was to be restricted to terraced houses. Many of the properties in Santa Marija Estate were purchased from a company called Cenmed Ltd the directors of which are Albert and Brian Mizzi and most were sold on the condition that only 20 to 25 percent of the plot area was to be built. Since the estate is built on clay slopes it was always considered to be dangerous to excavate.
However, Fenech, the man behind the Hilton Portomaso development, has been granted permission to build what will eventually be about 109 apartments and 8 maisonettes on the land.
Some of them, following excavation, will be built in blocks to contain eight flats and 2 duplex units, but will not exceed three storeys from the present land level.
The apartments, on a land area of 16,500 square metres, will dwarf the bungalows of Santa Marija Estate and will change the face of what were two separate residential areas separated by fields.
Construction work that has started on the site is threatening the people and property in the vicinity. Already one resident of Santa Maria Estate has had his property seriously damaged. It is now uninhabitable and the family has had to move elsewhere. A large crevice has appeared in the property. MaltaToday spoke to Fenech about the development and the damage caused to the nearby residence; and was assured that he would make good for all damages.
When asked about the development and whether he was of the opinion that it was too dense, Fenech said that he would be complying with the conditions of the permit.
Santa Maria Estate has been built on clay slopes and the residents have certificates from architects that state that should excavation works be carried within 2.5 feet - as required by law - the homes are sure to sustain serious damage. This could even involve the possible collapse of existing structures and the families that live in them are worried.
The Tas Sellum project is expected to generate 55,000 cubic metres of rock waste and 18,000 cubic metres of blue clay waste.
Little can be done to protect the area which also included gun-posts previously scheduled Grade two and later de-scheduled, and a Grade two ecological area near the coastal area which should remain protected. However, while phase one of the development has already been granted a permit and will see the development of five blocks of 46 residential units, phases two and three which are further away from the sea still require full planning permission.
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