Bidnija ODZ land eyed for wellness centre as application gets approval recommendation

A planning application proposing the development of a “wellbeing centre” on the site of a disused livestock farm in Bidnija has been recommended for approval, despite hundreds of objections having been filed.

The outline development application, which is a type of planning application seeking to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development is acceptable in principle before a full development application is filed, was submitted by Francis Gauci.

The proposal would see the disused livestock farm on the site demolished. In its place, a complex including 11 bungalows would be constructed, consisting of 28 units. The site in question, covering circa 29,300sqm, is accessible from Triq is-Sagħtar.

Among other things, objectors highlighted that the site in question is not located within the development zone and that it should be left as is or for agricultural activity uses. Objectors also argued that the proposal threatens the surrounding environment through light pollution and added pressure on existing infrastructure, noting that the road to the site is a narrow country lane.

A number of NGOs had filed objections, including Moviment Graffitti and Nature Trust – FEE Malta, arguing that the proposal constitutes intensive commercial development.

But the Development Management Directorate said that the proposal has been considered in relation to applicable policy, and noted that the scheme, keeping with the legally established floor-space and with the committed boundaries, is respectful of the site itself.

In positively considering the application’s acceptance, the Development Management Directorate said that the application aims to rehabilitate a disused site with a low impact commercial touristic-related development that merges with the rural context, and “the environmental benefit” of removing the farm in the specific context of the site that sees the fringes of the Category 2 Rural Settlement expanding towards it.

It also considered “the architectural quality of the scheme that will promote the image of Malta in the high-end tourism sector.” The design concept is said to re-call the villages of the Tuscany countryside characterised by individual small buildings laid out on a circular pattern around a 'campanile' (bell tower). Although the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage did express concerns in relation to the tower, and the profile of the building has been left as a reserved matter to be addressed in any eventual full development application.

The directorate also noted “the positive consideration, in principle, by the Environment and Resources Authority in terms of environmental impacts, by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage in terms of heritage impacts and by the Development Management Transport Consideration Team in terms of impacts on the road network.”

Any eventual full development application will need to ensure that land use will only relate to tourist accommodation, that the maximum floor-space would not exceed the legally-established commitment on site which is equal to 1,134sqm, and that the height shall not exceed the average height of the legally-established farm, with any height above it requiring a visual impact assessment.

Images and drawings form part of the planning application