James Debono An investigation by the Office of the Prime Minister into whether horse stables are doubling up as farmhouse dwellings is still underway eight months since it was announced by Lawrence Gonzi.
The investigation concerns the transformation of abandoned farm buildings located in outside-development zones (ODZs) into horse stables. A planning policy devised in 2007 paved the way for owners of illegally developed buildings, to sanction them by changing them into horse stables.
An OPM spokesperson told MaltaToday that MEPA’s monitoring of these transformed dwellings is currently underway.
The investigation concerns 21 permits for the construction of ODZ stables issued in the past two years. Gonzi had told parliament that the investigation would ascertain whether buildings approved as stables are still being used for this purpose.
However, in April, a MEPA spokesperson had told MaltaToday that the authority was unaware of any such investigation.
A total of 21 ODZ stables have been approved by MEPA between January 2007 and January 2008. MEPA received 71 applications for the development of ODZ stables between October 2007 and March 2009.
Applications for such ODZ stables were facilitated by the policy for “agriculture, farm diversification and stables” in 2007. The policy grants permission for “rehabilitation, conversion or change of use” of any abandoned building, particularly an abandoned livestock farm building, for the stabling of horses.
Between 2007 and 2009, MEPA received 71 of these development applications.
Before issuing any such permit, MEPA has to ensure that a number of criteria are satisfied.
The authority may also grant permission for a 25% extension of the footprint of these abandoned buildings.
Permission can even be granted for the construction of new ODZ stables, if they are limited to a minimum of four stable-rooms. Any such development must be located within 300 metres from the development zone boundary, and at least 100 metres away from adjacent dwellings.
MEPA’s Development Control Commission recently invoked this controversial policy to sanction an illegal development in the Qliegha area in Mosta. The proposing architect Philip Mifsud, the Nationalist MP and a former member of the DCC, accepted to remove all illegalities on the site and a condition that no change of use of the newly approved building will be ever be allowed.
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