Developer Midi has unveiled designs for a new 16-storey tower at Tigné Point and says a permit decision is expected by the end of the year, but details and plans are still being withheld by the Planning Authority.

New designs unveiled by London firm LOM, appointed by Midi after an international competition, show a residential high-rise block and new retail outlets set within the recently-restored Garden Battery, close to the Tigné seafront.

The designers said the 13,200 square metre tower had been “designed to maximise views towards the island’s capital Valletta and the Mediterranean Sea” while the historic Garden Battery, a British-era fortification, would form a new landscaped public area with “nature plants, lush green spaces and stone terraces”.

The roof of the retail building will serve as a public plaza, while a pedestrian bridge will link to the Tigné promenade.

Midi CEO Mark Portelli said: “LOM has designed a striking and high quality scheme that responds to its historic, seafront location. This is the final phase of the Tigné Point development, transforming the former brownfield site with new homes, commercial space and public amenities.”

The designers said a planning application had been submitted and a decision was expected at the end of the year.

Details of the application are still not publicly available

However, details of the application are still not publicly available, following a decision by the Planning Authority earlier this year to restrict access to pending applications deemed “incomplete”.

The restriction has faced criticism from environmental groups who argue that it breaches transparency requirements and discourages the public from filing submissions, but the PA says it is in line with its legal obligations.

The view of the Garden Battery.

Yesterday, the PA did not respond to questions on the designers’ three-month timeline for a decision.

Because the application is not yet public, it is not clear what submissions have been made and what stage it has reached. The application could also be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment and other studies. 

It is also not clear whether the new project will benefit from the transfer of 8,000 square metres of developable floor space from Midi’s recently-approved development at Manoel Island.

During a hearing on changes to the Manoel Island master plan earlier this year, it emerged that Midi would be able to make use of the 8,000 square metres it had reduced from Manoel Island in its Tigné Point developments.

A Midi spokesperson told MaltaToday in February that the company was still “reconciling the developed areas with the PA” and could not confirm whether the transferred floor-space would form part of the new high-rise development.