‘Il-Gigu’ applies to sanction illegal Xewkija block

Gozitan developer Francesco Grima has taken a page from the playbook of rogue developer Joseph Portelli and filed an application to sanction an already built block of apartments in Xewkija that had been struck down by the Appeals Court last year.

Grima, better known as il-Gigu, presented application PA07954/24 to sanction the block of apartments as built. Grima filed the papers using the name of James Zammit to disguise his new application and prevent objections to his latest attempt.

The Planning Authority has put the application up for consultation before issuing its final recommendation.

According to the local plan and development rules, the apartment block cannot be sanctioned because it was built using an illegal permit issued by the Planning Authority.

In a decision following an appeal by Din l-Art Helwa and others, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti declared in November 2023 that the permit was irregular and had no effect.

Grima is now attempting to acquire a permit to regularise his illegalities anyway. This will solve many of his issues with apartment owners who spent a fortune on their investment only to realise they had bought an illegal flat.

Grima is copying similar moves made recently by Joseph Portelli and his associates to try to regularise illegal buildings in Sannat, which the court also struck down.

The Mulberry affair

The illegal building dates back to 2020, when il-Gigu applied to develop a residential block, Mulberry Court, on a large plot of land in Xewkija.

The Planning Authority issued the permit against its directorate’s recommendation, despite objections from neighbours and NGOs and a clear indication by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage that the permit could not proceed.

The local plan clearly states that the area can only accommodate three-storey buildings. Despite this, il-Gigu, through his architect Alex Bigeni, a relative of Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, who Prime Minister Robert Abela also placed in charge of planning, applied to build five storeys and obtained a permit.

An appeal was immediately filed against this development.

Grima continued his development in the meantime, and three years later, until the court decision was given, the building was completed.

In his decision, the Chief Justice made it clear that the building was illegal and went against planning rules. He revoked the permit as if it never existed.

Grima has been involved in several dubious development projects and is also a regular recipient of direct orders from the Gozo Ministry since Clint Camilleri became Minister.

Grima is also coordinating the acquisition of Fort Chambray from fellow businessman Michael Caruana, known as il-Billi, and wants to turn it into more flats.

Parliament recently approved a resolution allowing the transfer of Fort Chambray’s public concession to a group of developers.