Joseph Portelli Files Application To Sanction Illegal Swimming Pools In Qala
Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli, together with colleague Mark Agius on behalf of Excel Investments Ltd., has filed an application to sanction two large illegal swimming pools situated on ODZ land in Qala, Gozo.
This comes as the latest update in an ongoing case concerning two pools situated adjacent to an apartment block on Triq ta’ Kassja and Triq il-Wardija.
And in recent weeks, activists from Moviment Graffitti headed on-site for a direct action against the swimming pools, spray painting the word “illegal” in red all over the area.
The pools, measuring 414 square metres and 267 square metres, are under a planning enforcement order after a court overturned a previous permit in March this year. They form part of a 164-apartment block at the development zone’s edge, approved through three separate applications back in 2019.
The pools, entirely located on nearly 700 square metres of ODZ land, were initially approved in 2021 during the 2022 electoral campaign. This approval was granted against the recommendation of the case officer and confirmed by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.
However, following a successful appeal by Moviment Graffitti and the Qala local council, the court annulled the permit in March, with Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti ruling that the pools were approved in violation of specific site policies.
Architect Alex Bigeni has now filed an application to sanction the pools, which also includes the sanctioning of a fish pond and extensive landscaping around them.
This application for sanctioning will allow the developers to delay enforcement action, as the outcome of the application and potential appeals must be awaited if the Planning Authority decides to reject it.
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