Environmental concerns overlooked, Luqa development approved

The development of 75 apartments and maisonettes in Luqa has been approved by the Planning Authority (PA), overlooking environmental concerns which would have come into play had the project be proposed as a whole, rather than in parts.

The residential complex built upon 950 square meters of undeveloped fields, was divided over two applications, which, had they been viewed as a whole, would have been considered a ‘major development’, possibly requiring both an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and obligatory open spaces. Mr Colin Zammit, architect of the project stated that the applications had to be separated as they are divided by schemed roads.

The two applications were both approved by the PA board today, with a narrow win of four votes to three . Chairman of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) Victor Axiak, chairman of the PA Vince Cassar and Annick Bonello all voted against the development. Mr Axiak believed that the applications were split to avoid studies which could have shown environmental impact.

Another three applications on the same site withdrew ahead of the hearing amidst public pressure, however, the GAP Ltd, who are the developers, disagreed with the assumption, saying that the decision to withdraw was commercial. However, the developers did not rule out the possibility of further developing the site in the future.