Application for sports village on old Flower Power site in Ta’ Qali to be heard on Thursday

A planning application for a massive sports village to be built instead of the old Flower Power site and the land around it in Ta’ Qali is set to be heart by the Planning Authority’s Board on Thursday.

The application proposes the building of a huge sports complex across some 207,000 square metres of land, part of which used to house the Flower Power business, which has now been closed down for several years.

The remainder of the site is currently composed of open plots of unworked soil which are not being used for a specific purpose. “Many of the plots in fact contain piles of discarded litter and inert construction waste,” the PA’s case officer noted in their report.

The land is situated in an Outside Development Zone along Triq Durumblat in Attard.

If granted, the application would see the construction of a “multipurpose sports village” which includes a full-size rugby pitch, a half-size scrum training pitch, two full size football pitches, a half-size intensive training pitch, a sprint track, five tennis courts, a tennis show-court, and four paddle tennis courts.

It would also include an indoor sports complex, a football and rugby club, a tennis club, a sports health club, a sports rehabilitation clinic, a sports hotel (Class 3B), an indoor and outdoor garden centre, a commercial area (Class 4B and 4D), surface and underground parking, and extensive landscaping.

The development is being proposed by Michael Spiteri’s Mediterranean Flower Products Limited and has been on the cards for several years: an application for a “sports and entertainment complex-family theme park” was submitted in 2008 but subsequently withdrawn, while an application very similar to this one was submitted in 2019 but also withdrawn.

In the case of this project, the PA’s case officer recommended that the board refuse the application.

A total of 430 representations were filed on the project, including from several NGOs and the local councils of Attard and Mosta.  These representations highlighted various concerns, including that the site is located in an ODZ and includes agricultural land and that the landscape has a rich ecosystem which also borders a protected area and a bird sanctuary.

Other concerns included the fact that a number of sports facilities in the plans are present at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium – which is owned and run by the Malta Football Association – and therefore not required, and that facilities that are not-sport related should not be allowed in principle.

Finally, others noted that the project will increase traffic generation to and from Ta’ Qali which the current infrastructure cannot adequately cater for.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage objected to the proposed development as well, noting that the site is barely 10 metres away from the historic Torri ta’ Cumbo which also includes a small catacomb while a Knight’s Period water channel runs along Triq Durumblat at the site – a historical feature which “has cultural value that would warrant its preservation.”

There were also concerns that the development will completely eliminate the view of Mdina.  Photomontages indicate “the total elimination of the iconic view of Mdina and Mtarfa from Triq id-Durumblat and this will eradicate the long-standing visual relationship of Mdina with its surroundings, which is of considerable social historical importance and thus, shall be considered as major loss to the cultural heritage.”

The Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability also objected and requested further information to ensure full accessibility of the premises, and no revised drawings were submitted by the architect.

The Environment and Resources Authority meanwhile requested additional time to conclude it assessment on the project, but did not submit anything further.  The case officer said that with no further information he was not in a position “to favourably recommend the principle of the proposal as environmental consideration may have a bearing on its determination.”

There were other major concerns for the case officer though.  While recognising the “interesting concept of creating a fully equipped sport city”, the case officer noted that the project should be refused for several reasons.

Chief amongst them is that it runs against the comprehensive aim of the Ta’ Qali Action Plan, while the commercial uses of the proposed project also exceed what is permitted.  Furthermore, part of the built structures are not located within the designated building zones, and there are issues with height, transportation requirements, environmental implications, and heritage.

As a result, the project was recommended for refusal.  The Planning Board can, however, choose to overturn this recommendation should it deem fit.

The proposal is an outline application – meaning that even if it were to be approved, the developer must file an application for a full development before any work can commence.

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