An application to turn what has been labelled a sham sheep farm into a residential unit and agritourism business in Bidnija has been suspended after it received a deluge of objections and NGOs, together with over 100 individuals, earlier this week filed a class action calling for the original permit’s revocation.

The suspension, requested by the architect and the owner of the outrageous development Konrad Bezzina, arrives in the midst of a five-year ongoing saga.

The development dates back to 2018 when the Planning Commission headed by Elizabeth Ellul ignored the objections – including those of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Agricultural Advisory Committee – and green-lit the out-of-proportion supposed farm in the middle of an idyllic valley.

Despite the application immediately looking suspicious, even in terms of its design being more suited to a hotel than a sheep farm, the PA approved the architect’s plans for a massive building.

Right after its completion and without a single hoof on the ‘farm’, Bezzina filed another application, this time to turn part of the building into a residence for his family and another part as a business.

That last application drew the ire of NGOs and hundreds of objectors who accused the PA of allowing the blatant abuse, as had been predicted when the first application was filed.

The architect/owner has now asked the PA to suspend the processing of the latest application, in a possible bid to buy more time in which to tweak plans into something more palatable for the PA and objectors.

The Planning Authority’s Agricultural Advisory Committee even raised the issue of the ‘sheep farm’ being a mere excuse to build a residence in the idyllic setting – having previously declared that Bezzina was not a registered farmer and had no experience or track record in the rearing of animals.

The Committee said that Bezzina had given no proof of any technical knowledge or experience in farming and that the structure as built differs significantly from the original PA permit, making the sheep farm look more like a dwelling than an agricultural facility.

Bezzina is now asking the PA to sanction all the previous illegalities in this latest application.