db Group given go-ahead to expand St George's Bay towers

Updated 3.45pm with reaction

db Group has been given the green light by the Planning Authority to add an extra seven floors to its mega-development at the former ITS site overlooking St George’s Bay.

The permit was granted on Thursday, with eight votes in favour and two against from the Planning Board.

The group, through architect Darren Sciberras, applied to expand on a previous permit, seeking to extend the two 17-and 18-storey towers to 23- and 25-storeys (PA 3218/25).

The expansion will only affect the residential component of the development by adding 60 apartments. Besides the apartments, the complex will also include a hotel, a shopping complex, a lido, and a beach club.

NGO representative Romano Cassar and Pembroke's mayor Kaylon Zammit were the only two board members to vote against the development.

Cassar noted how the development would have a negative visual impact as the towers would increase in size by 39 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively

"Without a doubt, this will have a negative impact on our residents," Zammit said.

Writing on Facebook after the hearing, the mayor said he believed the community deserved some form of compensation.

Last month, a planning case officer recommended the application for approval, noting that the latest changes remain within the permissible floor area ratio.

The chairman endorsed the development, saying the proposal "seems to conform with all the planning policies".

db Group: This is in line FAR policy

In an initial reaction to the approval, db Group said the decision "was taken in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies, including the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) policy which governs medium and high-rise developments."

The FAR policy determines the permissible building volume and height based on site characteristics and planning parameters.

The company said the FAR policy "has been consistently applied to comparable projects across Malta, and the authority was legally obliged to apply it in this case as well." 

It said it looked forward to completing the project next year and noted it had downscaled its original plans last month, "reducing the number of apartments from 82 to 60, with each residence exceeding 150sqm."

"db Group remains committed to being a responsible neighbour and an active contributor to the Pembroke and St Julian’s communities. Every effort has been made to minimise inconvenience during construction, and the group continues to engage openly with residents and local authorities to ensure the project’s positive legacy," a group spokesperson said. 

The permit was granted after having previously been deferred twice by the board.

In the first meeting on October 16, the board suspended the meeting due to a row over the appointment of the NGO representative to the board.

Then weeks later, on November 6, the decision was deferred again as the applicant submitted new drawings that reduced the number of apartments from 82 to 60, while retaining the size of the project.

The PA approved plans to build a 17-storey tower and an 18-storey tower, alongside a 12-storey hotel at the site in 2021 (PA 3807/17), after initially planning to build a 38-storey tower. The decision was appealed, but a court gave the go-ahead to complete the project last year.

Pembroke residents have criticised the project, saying it is located in a residential area that will be overrun by commercial activity, while others have expressed concern that the already congested road network cannot cope with the increased activity the project will bring with it. 

Excavation and construction work at the site began in October last year.

Last month, the Pembroke local council agreed to vote against the development in a U-turn from an earlier decision taken in July.

Councillors had previously agreed to vote in favour of the proposed extension in return for a €3 million payment from db Group meant for local community projects.

Thursday's decision comes days after a 25-year-old Turkish worker died at the construction site after falling two storeys.

'Savage' and 'Unacceptable'

ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said the party was not surprised by the PA’s decision, stating that it was consistent with the government’s emphasis on speculation and “savage savage overdevelopment to favour the few over the many.”

“After years in which the developer was forced to scale down its initial plans, this green light for a major vertical expansion is nothing short of a betrayal of residents and the public interest. Allowing the towers to rise to 23 and 25 storeys in an area already bursting at the seams shows once again that planning policy in Malta is being bent to favour the powerful mega-rich over the community,” she said. 

Momentum leader Arnold Cassola said the Planning Authority decision was "unacceptable". 

"The development will cast longer shadows over Pembroke residences during winter mornings and intensify pressures on the area’s already fragile infrastructure," he said. 

The party said it was regrettable that both the government and the opposition have "remained silent" on the decision.