Baħrija Gate Blocking Public Access To 60-Year-Old Footpath And Farm Rejected By PA
A controversial Baħrija gate blocking public access to the shore has finally been refused development permission by the Planning Authority.
Situated within a Natura 2000 site in the limits of Baħrija, the Commission refused to sanction a gate that was recently installed to restrict public access leading to a shore platform known as ‘Blata tal-Melħ’.
The Planning Commission said the sanctioning of this gate would result in the closure of a pre-1967 footpath and as a result went against the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) which ensures that existing coastal recreational resources are protected, enhanced and accessible.
The Compliance and Enforcement Directorate will now ensure that the gate is removed to safeguard public access.
Apart from this, the PA has also rejected an application for a cow farm in the vicinity in recent days.
The cow farm and ancillary facilities were being proposed outside the development zone within an area known as Ir-Raba Ta’ San Pietru and which is scheduled as an area of high landscape value.
The Commission agreed with the Development Management Directorate’s recommendation that this project would result in an adverse visual impact on the surrounding environment.
The proposed development also ran counter to the 2014 Rural Policy & Design Guidance (RPDG) in that the site of the proposed cow farm lies within the buffer zone of a source used for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption.
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