Property in Malta & Gozo. What to look out for.

This blog has moved

2010-03-19T08:47:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://property-malta.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://property-malta.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Hondoq Ir-Rummien should not be turned into a Xlendi

2009-04-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

"Hondoq Ir-Rummien should not be turned into a Xlendi - its image identity should be retained and protected,” a third year architecture student emphasised.

The student was outlining a planning brief through which the abandoned desalinisation plant at Hondoq Ir-Rummien could be turned into a youth hostel, hosting both local and foreign students carrying out research in Gozo....

More articles outlining the recent situation about Hondoq Ir-Rummien:

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=1348
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=1216
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=85000
http://gozonews.com/letters/what-hope-is-there-for-an-eco-island-concept/
http://environment.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=1161
http://gozonews.com/featured/storm-damage-at-ta%e2%80%99-gordan-and-hondoq-bay/
http://gozonews.com/letters/a-bad-workman-always-blames-his-tools/
http://gozonews.com/featured/hondoq-an-accident-just-waiting-to-happen/

Wiping those blotches off the landscape

2008-11-12T01:21:00.000-08:00

Petra Bianchi, director, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Valletta
"

Ever since I can remember, there have been illegal huts and rooms clustered along our coasts and dotted throughout the Maltese countryside, squatting on public land. And ever since I can remember, the general feeling of the public has always been one of helplessness, in the knowledge that the government of the day was not willing to do anything about it.
One result of this is the widespread attitude that the law is not equal for all. Over far too many years, people have written and complained, and environmentalists have campaigned against this state of affairs, but nothing was ever done. The problem was allowed to grow and grow until it reached huge proportions and became increasingly difficult to solve.
Now, over the last few months, some illegal structures on public land have been knocked down and removed, and some squatters have been evicted. After decades of closing both eyes to this abuse, the government has unexpectedly rolled up its sleeves and is taking swift action.
Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi must know that, on this particular issue, he has the public standing solidly behind him - that is, all those who have not built an illegal structure and are not squatting on public land. I have certainly not yet come across anyone who does not support the government's actions on this front.
However, I also haven't met anyone who has not immediately added, "but what about the rest?" - we all know that there are many, many more, and all over the place.
Now that action has commenced, it must be taken to its right conclusion. The feeling that the law is not equal for all must not be allowed to take on a new shape. This initiative must continue and press on, until all illegal structures on public land have been removed, particularly those scarring our countryside and coastline. It is also important that a use is found for sites which need to be maintained to survive, such as the Għajn Tuffieħa barracks, and that other sites are not only cleared but also rehabilitated, such as the vacated area at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
We must not allow sites to collapse into major eyesores such as the White Rocks site, which was an attractive residential complex in its day but has been destroyed through neglect and vandalism. Another abandoned area left to ruin is Fort Campbell in Selmun.
There are countless issues which still need to be addressed. We have heard for some time that an amendment to the law is to be enacted that will forbid the sanctioning of new illegal buildings, but the step has not yet been taken. I hope that this next move to safeguard our environment will now also be made without further delay.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081112/letters/wiping-those-blotches-off-the-landscape
"

FAA calls on Mepa to refuse permit for Windsor Terrace development

2008-11-12T01:11:00.001-08:00

A planned five-storey development in a area with a strict two-floor local plan height limitation is due to be considered for by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s Development Control Committee tomorrow.
The Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said in a statement this morning that the application is for a block of flats in Windsor Terrace, Sliema.
It had came as a great shock when Mepa’s DCC granted the developers of this site an outline permit to build five floors.
“This would create illegal high party walls on either side, as the flats are to be built right in the middle of a row of seven identical, fine old two-storey Sliema townhouses. This streetscape had been protected, however the Mepa protection indicator had mysteriously disappeared around the time that this application was submitted.”
FAA said it has been calling for the rescinding of this outline permit since the DCC had overturned the case officer’s recommendation to refuse the permit without giving justification for such a reversal according to planning regulations.
It asked how Mepa could refuse others’ permits on the grounds of washrooms that were a few feet too large, then grant a such an outrageous permit for a five-floor block of flats in a two-storey, supposedly protected, urban conservation area.
“The granting of a full permit tomorrow would certainly undermine all Mepa’s claims of a new transparency and a level playing field for all,” FAA said.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081112/local/faa-calls-on-mepa-to-refuse-permit-for-windsor-terrace-development

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA)
"

Do you agree with FAA's objections? Feel free to comment

Why this Property Blog?

2008-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

I'm launching this blog in the hope of attracting interest to the subtle features in property that enhance our surroundings with their aesthetic beauty. On the other hand I would also like to attract attention to the 'uglification' that inevitably takes place when undesirable development 'happens' only to stick out like a sore thumb for years on end.

I am counting on you, readers of this blog, to share your views on the good and the bad of Maltese Property.

Feel free to share good photos; such as of any exquisite details on facades or apertures, door knobs etc.. which create that pleasant feeling when truly admiring a structural work of art. And feel free to share the bad photos of things which should never have been developed in the first place!

Thank you. I hope to see you around often.