Xemxija residents appeal to EU Commission on Ċaqnu’s ‘savage’ development

A group of residents in Xemxija published an “urgent” appeal to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment regarding a massive proposed development being pushed by the notorious developer iċ-Ċaqnu.

Located in the narrow stretch between Triq Raddet ir-Roti and Triq is-Simar, the proposed development would consist of two mixed-use high-rise blocks and a seven-floor underground car park with 1,800 spaces.

According to provisional planning documents, the “commercial areas” of the proposed project will comprise leisure, retail, and food and drink outlets, alongside a residential complex comprising 124 dwellings over six levels.

While the provisional application mentioned above suggests that the proposed development will be spread “over six levels”, internal documents and previously submitted plans published by The Shift last month suggest that the development may reach heights of up to 11 storeys.

A hotel is also included in the plans. But Polidano is submitting the plans in a piecemeal fashion, with most unaware of the full extent of the project, described by the local council as a “savage development” in an objection letter filed on its behalf.

The proposed development is currently subject to a “screening request”, which means that the exact dimensions of the project may evolve over time. 

The photomontages obtained by The Shift indicate that the project would visibly dominate both the skyline and nearby residential buildings.

The partial planning application was filed by Polidano’s Xemxija Estate Ltd last year. Though the full size of the project remains unclear, what is certain is that the commercial element of the project would be in breach of the area’s local plan since it is designated for residential use.

In their submissions to the European Commission, Xemxija’s residents expressed concerns about the project breaching the parameters set by the Local Plan for Xemxija, which limits construction heights in the area to 17.5m and four floors.

“The site is designated for low-rise villa development, not large-scale commercial or high-density projects. This represents a clear violation of the Local Plan and undermines legally binding planning policies,” residents wrote in the letter seen by The Shift.

Residents also flagged how the area is designated as an Archaeological Site and that no required studies or detailed investigations on the matter have been made public.

In addition, residents also referred to potential breaches of the EU Habitats Directive and the EIA Directive, both of which require full impact assessments about any development projects which may affect protected sites.

Though the EU Commission generally refrains from any intervention which may seem like an infringement of the member state’s sovereignty over domestic policy, the group requested a list of measures to be taken in response.

Residents called upon the EU Commission to investigate whether the PA breached EU environmental laws by “approving or processing” this project without proper impact assessments and studies, adequate enforcement of the EU Habitats Directive, and the suspension of all construction activity on site until “all EU environmental obligations are met.”

A request for comment was sent to the EU Commission’s press unit. No answers were received by publication time.

A project years in the making

While the latest planning application for this project was filed last year, the site’s history stretches beyond that. Preliminary works on site had already begun by August, in spite of the lack of any kind of permits to do so.

As can be clearly seen in the footage below, works to clear the site progressed steadily in the span of a few days. 

When The Shift sent questions to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) about the uprooting of mature carob trees during Polidano’s illegal works, the Authority said no permit was required for the clearance works.

A key part of the project relies on a separate planning control application filed by Polidano’s company – one that seeks “to remove the schemed passageway from the middle of the site and to create two passageways on the side of the site and to amend the delineation of Site A and B.” This will further choke the neighbourhood. 

In a detailed submission filed by the St Paul’s Bay’s local council, it stated that “the concept presented in the local plan – having two distinct sites – is being circumvented to create one much larger site, with the newly proposed roads bordering the existing third-party villas.”

Describing it as “a savage development,” the local council further argued that the sheer size of the project would bring a massive increase in infrastructural pressures on the small locality, with particular concerns raised about the fact that the area’s geology is “characterised by a significant clay layer which will be distorted, leading to movement in the underlying geological strata supporting third-party villas.”

Given that the project spans interconnected buildings – the smallest of which is right on the shoreline – and the coalescing of multiple plots of land into one giant project, it is evident that this plan has been in the making for years.

In 2012, Polidano had partially built the smaller unit on the shoreline and left it in shell form. A decade later, the Planning Authority sanctioned the building, and it is now destined to be converted into 47 apartments, two penthouses, 34 garages, and shops that would be directly linked to the high-rise towers behind them.