NGOs Slam Application for Stables On Land Owned By Joseph Portelli’s Company Near Ta’ Ċenċ Cliffs
Four NGOs have written to the chair of the Planning Authority, Planning Commission and Environment and Resources Authority after a planning application (PA/07996/21) for stables next to a protected area near Ta’ Ċenċ Cliffs was recommended for approval without taking into consideration the land ownership and use of stables.
The NGOs who wrote and signed the letter are Moviment Graffitti, Għawdix, Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.
The land on which the stables are to be built on, should the applications be approved, are owned by Excel Investments Limited, which is a company owned by developer Joseph Portelli and his partners.
Several other projects by Portelli have come under fire and caused public outcry. Portelli himself also caused quite the stir when he organised a dinner in March, where the Prime Minister was the guest of honour.
The NGOs said that “the stables are clearly linked to a massive cluster of three blocks of flats amounting to 124 flats that have been permitted by the Planning Authority”. Din L-Art Ħelwa has appealed against two of the apartment blocks, and Movient Graffitti is in the process of filing an appeal against the third block.
Various works on the land have also been done illegally without a permit, including the rebuilding of rubble walls and extending a dirt road to the cliff edge. These works have taken place on parts of the land which is a Natura 2000 site and a Special Area of Conservation.
Some of the works done without a permit
“The case officer has recommended that the stables be approved, without taking into consideration the use of the stables in this area,” said the NGOs.
It was pointed out that this violates the spirit of policies which state that in cases where stables are not on grounds of existing buildings, the Planning Authority would have to consider the use of stables and any impact that horse-riding may have on the surrounding countryside.
This is all the more important in stables located near protected natural areas.
“The evidence shows that this is another example of fragmentation of planning schemes in which different parts of a larger project are fragmented into smaller components and put in different applications by different individuals. The Planning Authority then treats each application as though it was a single, unconnected application, with the result that planning policies go unheeded.”
The organisations will be present in the meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday to insist – as they have already done in the letter – that the case is reopened for a fresh assessment so that it can be assessed as part of a larger residential project, and probe the use of the stables and horses in this location.
The organisations have pledged to insist that planning policies have to be respected in spirit and in letter, and to stop allowing powerful developers from taking shortcuts to approval of fragmentary applications.
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