Over 400 Objections Filed Against Sports Village On 207,000 Sqm Of ODZ Land In Ta’ Qali

Over 400 objections have been filed against the development application for a sports village on 207,000 sqm of ODZ land which is being proposed in Ta’ Qali.
This comes after Lovin Malta wrote about the development application, with pressure group Moviment Graffiti also launching a template for objections shortly after.
The development application is now awaiting recommendation, following the case officer’s report which is still yet to be released.
The application, which was filed by Michael Spiteri on behalf of Mediterranean Flower Products LTD, is set to take up the whopping amount of 207,000 sqm, situated within the Outside Development Zone (ODZ).
As indicated within the public application form, the proposed multipurpose sports village includes; a full-size rugby pitch, a half-size scrum training pitch, two full-size football pitches, a half-size intensive training pitch, a sprint track, five tennis courts, one tennis show-court, four paddle tennis courts, an indoor sports complex, football and rugby club, tennis club.
And that’s not all, the application also includes, a sports health club, a sports rehabilitation clinic, sports hotel (Class 3B), indoor and outdoor garden centre, commercial area (Class 4B and 4D), surface and underground parking, as well as extensive landscaping.
The site is situated within the same location as the previous Flower Power garden centre, which was abandoned back in October 2010. It touches upon the roads of Triq Durumblat, Ta’ Xkora, Ta’ L-Iskalun, within the limits of Ta’ Qali in Attard.
It’s not the first time that an application was made for a sports village in this location, with a previous application in 2019 being withdrawn “at the request of the applicant”.
Lovin Malta also spoke with candidates on the district pre-election, with PN and ADPD candidates objecting to the application and PL candidates refusing to reply.
ADPD’s Ralph Cassar also explained that “most importantly: any new development must use the same footprint occupied at present, same height, same soil cover etc. So, to summarise the local plan does not indicate the area in question for uses other than that for which it is used/was used – the same type of activity, same footprint, same height, no additional ‘concreting over’ of spaces”.
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