Jean Paul Busuttil, the entrepreneur tragically killed in Bidnija on Sunday morning, was just days away from receiving planning approval for a 14,000-square-metre farm he had spent over 15 years pursuing.
Mr Busuttil, who served as Chairman and Executive Director of the publicly listed company Luxury Living Technologies, was fatally shot following an alleged road rage altercation with a neighbour. Despite attempting to drive himself to hospital after the incident, he succumbed to his injuries en route.
The Planning Authority Board was set to meet on 3rd July to consider his long-pending application to sanction and develop an expansive agricultural property in Bidnija – a vision Mr Busuttil had been working towards since at least 2010.
His most recent application, submitted in 2020, was the third attempt to secure approval for the site. A previous application had been refused in 2010, and another filed in 2018 was later withdrawn.
The application sought to regularise several existing structures and features on the site, including a residential building, a commercial farm, indoor and outdoor ponds housing 3,500 ornamental Japanese Koi, as well as various agricultural and aquaculture facilities.
It also requested approval for the extension of the existing building and the sanctioning of multiple elements, such as a fish culturing unit, reservoir, girna (traditional stone hut), sheep enclosures, a swimming pool, water feature, aviary, and the construction of boundary walls.
Additionally, the application included the sanctioning of installed solar panels and proposed minor alterations, along with the extension of an olive grove.
According to the revised plans submitted in April 2025, the site was not intended to receive visitors.
Despite the longstanding efforts behind the project, the proposed development faced opposition from both the St Paul’s Bay local council and heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa.
Their primary concerns centred around the development’s location on ODZ (Outside Development Zone) land, and the fact that Mr Busuttil was not a registered full-time farmer, an issue they argued should preclude an expansion of the farmhouse footprint.
A site visit by an ERA case officer found that the existing residence is partially pre-1968 and covered by permits, though it was not constructed in the originally approved location.
The officer also noted that the applicant farms 3,500 ornamental Japanese Koi in outdoor and indoor ponds, raises dairy sheep for milk, ġbejniet, cheese and keeps various animals – such as parrots, chickens, turkeys, and peacocks – for aesthetic and trade purposes.
Nonetheless, the ERA recommended conditional approval of the development, subject to specific conditions outlined in the report.
