A controversial application to convert protected ruins in the heart of the Buskett woodlands into so-called ‘farmer’s quarters’ has been unanimously refused by the Planning Commission, despite U-turns by two government regulators who had withdrawn their earlier objections to the project.

The three-member Planning Commission voted 3-0 to reject developer Alex Tanti’s application to convert a dilapidated rural structure at Ta’ Żejnu into a dwelling in one of Malta’s most environmentally sensitive Natura 2000 sites.

The PA Commission was headed by Martin Camilleri.

The proposal had been under scrutiny since it was first revealed by The Shift last year.

Initially, both the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had objected to the development, prompting the Planning Authority’s Development Management Directorate to recommend refusal.

However, after the application was suspended for several months to allow revisions, both regulators quietly reversed their positions and issued clearances subject to conditions, removing two of the project’s biggest obstacles.

Despite those U-turns, the Planning Authority’s technical assessment remained unchanged.

Officials maintained there was no evidence that the structure had ever been roofed before 1967 or 1978, no planning permits had ever existed for a residence on the site, and no proof of any residential use. They also concluded that the proposal could not qualify as a farmer’s dwelling because no genuine agricultural need had been demonstrated.

The Planning Commission endorsed that central reasoning, amending the refusal notice to clarify that there had been ‘no residential use’ of the structure before 1967 or 1978. It nevertheless removed the Directorate’s second refusal ground concerning the scale and design of the project after noting the clearances issued by ERA and the Superintendence.