Updated with PA reaction - The Planning Authority has denied claims by Sliema Council that it concealed documents related to the planned Townsquare Tower development by not uploading them online. 

The proposed Townsquare project.

In a statement reacting to a case officer report about the development, the local council said three documents referred to by the case officer had only been made available after the council requested them.

"This concealing of documents is highly suspicious and in breach of the Aarhus Convention," the council statement read.  

A fourth document dated May 2016 is still not available online despite "countless" requests, the council said. 

The Townsquare Tower development is intended to replace what used to be Sliema's Union Club. 

The council said that it appreciated the case officer's suggestion for a council member to sit on the board deciding the application. 

It however argued that despite the Floor Area Ratio Policy stipulating that tall building proposals had to take similar nearby developments into consideration, the Townsquare Tower Environment Planning Statement and its addenda did not "in any way" consider plans for a 40-storey Fort Cambridge hotel. 

The case officer's report also "failed to assess any of the traffic related issues", the local council said, arguing that the developer's studies were "totally unrealistic". One of those claims is that peak hour traffic to and from Tigne Peninsula has decreased over the past decade. 

Vehicle emissions were now deemed to have a "negligible" impact on residents, the local council said incredulously, and there was no mention of public transport provisions. Nor was there any mention of a Green Travel Plan, as required by the Floor Area Ratio Policy, it said. 

The case officer had also failed to comment on a shortfall of 234 car parking spots, the council said, and had similarly steered clear of looking into the impact the proposed project would have on drainage systems. 

Read the council's reaction in full in the PDF below. 

PA' SAYS ALL DOCUMENTS WERE AVAILABLE AT THE FRONT DESK

The Planning Authority in a reaction, denied it concealed any documents.

"The Planning Authority can confirm that all documents related to this planning application, have throughout the entire planning process, been made available to the public at the front desk. Given that this is a pre-2007 application not all documents are in digital format. It is normal practice for architects and interested parties to request to view planning applications and relevant documents at the front desk of the authority," the PA said. 

It said the Environment Impact Statement for Town Square did not include the proposed Fort Cambridge hotel project because according to the EIA regulations and as confirmed by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), only those projects that are approved can be consider to form part of the studies.

"The proposed Fort Cambridge Hotel project has not yet been validated by the Authority and although studies are being carried out ,the formal planning process have not yet commenced."

The Authority said that through the dynamic parking model presented by the appointed traffic consultants, the proposed Town Square project would have a surplus of approximately 100 car parking spaces on site for the commercial component.

"The scheme provides the full parking requirement for the residential component of the project. Additionally, the supposition that ‘there has been a decrease in traffic during the peak hours to/from the Tigne Peninsula’ is a conclusion resulting from traffic counts carried out by the appointed traffic consultants."