Gaffarena to get Kirkop warehouses permit after 20 years of refusals

Marco Gaffarena, the rogue developer notoriously associated with one of Labour’s first major scandals – the Valletta Old Mint Street Palazzo debacle – is slated to receive a new, controversial permit to convert agricultural land into a complex of warehouses in the limits of Kirkop, directly on the airport’s flight path.

Gaffarena had been attempting to convert a large ODZ field into warehouses since 2004, through various applications that the Planning Authority consistently rejected.

However, following a decision by the EPRT (Environment and Planning Review Tribunal) in 2020 to reject the latest refusal decision and request the PA for a new review, the Planning Board has now indicated that it will be granting permission, following the presentation of smaller plans and subject to modifications to satisfy road safety concerns.

Since 2004, the PA has consistently maintained that the field is reserved for agricultural purposes and should not be developed for industrial use. Gaffarena’s subsequent applications, including those for a batching plant, were consistently rejected as they did not align with the area’s local plan.

In 2020, following Gaffarena’s appeal, the EPRT changed Gaffarena’s fate as Chairman Roderick Spiteri, Andy Ellul (now a PL parliamentary secretary), and Alessandra Fiott decided that a redesigned project should be allowed.

Through his architect, PN candidate Giorgio Schembri, Gaffarena reduced the number of warehouses he intends to build from 33 to 15 and will also construct approximately 500 square metres of office space and a car park.

In a recent meeting discussing the latest version of the 2014 application, the PA board, chaired by Manuel Camilleri, said that once the EPRT changed the PA’s consistent decision, it had no option but to issue a permit. He stated that some modifications to the current plans are still necessary and postponed the final decision until the end of this month.

The PA is now recommending the granting of a permit.

In 2014, when the original development application was submitted, nearly all relevant government entities, including ERA, the Malta Resources Authority, and Transport Malta, expressed objections to the development.

ERA specifically stated that “there are concerns that the proposal would result in intensification of industrial-type development in an area ODZ. Urban/ industrial type developments should be restricted to areas where such land use has already been established (such as Industrial Areas, Areas of Containment, Development Zones, etc.), to control and reduce the proliferation of inadequate development in ODZ areas.”

Following the EPRT’s decision and the latest development plans submitted by Gaffarena, the same government agencies dropped their objections.