The NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar on Friday welcomed the planning commission's decision not to consider the development application of a Għargħur block of apartments in isolation.

The block forms part of a “monstrous high-rise project” that residents are fiercely opposing.

The development is covered by three separate applications filed by different people within the development zone but just a stone’s throw away from the village’s urban conservation area. Two of the plots were formerly owned by the Church before they were sold. 

On Friday the FAA said in a statement that the development, together with a further two adjoining blocks whose application was still being processed, will rise six floors, forming "a bastion of concrete", blocking the view of the parish church, and ruining the character of the well-preserved village.

"The commission concluded that 'the visual appearance of the proposal does not adequately respond to the context of the surrounding locality, particularly with regard to volume in relation and proximity of Urban Conservation Areas zoning'.

"FAA condemns developers' and architects' attitude of having an automatic right to build up to the excessive heights of the DC15 Annexe 2 regulations, which is a height limitation, not a divine right.  

"The mechanism of depicting the 'potential heights' of adjoining houses as if they were already built up is another misleading gimmick which is damaging to our skylines. Those involved in the development sector need to adopt the doctors' oath of 'First do no harm'," the FAA said.