Gozo minister’s driver files new application for ‘garage’ on idyllic ODZ plot

Ronnie Camilleri, the driver of Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, has filed another application to develop a 200-square-metre ‘garage’ on the Nadur ODZ-ridge, despite strong opposition from civil society and residents to a previous application over fears it would be a dwelling,  not a simple garage.

The idyllic site for the property, which the Planning Authority is being asked to consider, overlooks Ramla Bay and the surrounding countryside.

Camilleri, also the minister’s cousin, previously filed an identical application for the site two years ago. It was withdrawn after fierce opposition from the local community.

The latest application (PA05478/23) is designed by architect Alexander Bigeni, also a cousin of the Gozo minister. The new application proposes no changes to the previous one withdrawn. It is the same development.

The plans show the ‘garage’ includes various windows and doors at the sides and back, leading to a ‘reservoir’ in the middle of the plot and a surrounding garden.

It has become common during the past years that permitted reservoirs used for agricultural purposes are later turned into swimming pools.

Aside from the ‘garage’, which covers a small portion of the field, a part of a larger green area, Camilleri asked the Planning Authority to allow him to build a boundary wall around the land, which is usual for a residential property.

Bigeni, a Gozitan architect connected with many ODZ developments, was also behind Camilleri’s failed bid two years ago.

This identical proposal was opposed by NGOs Għawdix and Moviment Graffiti, who filed objections along with residents and those living near the site. Neighbours of Camilleri at the currently undeveloped site on Triq ta’ Hida have said he had talked of his dream to build a “dwelling in disguise”.

Both NGOs objected because the proposed development was on an Outside Development Zone (ODZ) and lies on a ridge, breaching policies within the Gozo local plan.

Others, mostly Nadur residents, had insisted that no development should be permitted in the area, with some simply writing “stop ruining Gozo” in their formal objection to the Planning Authority.

During the past years, Gozo has been ravaged by construction, with once quiet villages turned into construction sites.

Hundreds of small apartment blocks are currently in the pipeline, with Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli and businessman Francesco Grima, known as ‘Il-Giegu’, and a close collaborator of Minister Clint Camilleri fronting them.