The appeal against a controversial apartment block in Lija kicked off yesterday with the local council asking the Appeals Tribunal for a site visit, as it seeks to establish the impact of the proposed development on the neighbourhood.
The Planning Authority gave the go-ahead last July for the development of 27 apartments over four floors, as well as penthouses, in a quiet residential street despite the protests of residents, the local council and NGOs.
Opponents of the development filed an appeal arguing that it would forever alter the character of the area and strain local infrastructure.
READ: Uproar as Planning Authority approves Lija apartment plans
The proposed block is in a narrow street characterised by lines of uniform terraced houses and right opposite a designated villa and bungalow area, with no existing buildings higher than two storeys.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil was the latest to wade into the fray this week, describing the permit as the “beginning of the end of Lija as we know it”.
Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg, who represents the district, was present at the appeal hearing yesterday.
She told the Times of Malta: “We cannot allow every development in the country. We are overdoing it and it has to stop.
“Allowing this would ruin yet another important street in a quaint village.
“There are areas which are suitable for development, but this is definitely not one of them.”
Lija mayor Magda Magri Naudi, who has spearheaded the opposition, has previously said confirming the application would replicate the “universally-acknowledged flop in planning” of localities like Sliema and set a dangerous precedent for other towns and villages.
The mayor insisted the local council was not consulted over changes to the planning policy – in 2006 and 2015 – on which the application rests.
“As far as local councils and individual residents are concerned, these changes were introduced by stealth,” she told this newspaper. “What are local councils for if they are not consulted on such drastic changes that will for ever destroy the neighbourhood’s character, and social fabric, which makes this prime area what it is today?”