A group of Għargħur residents have banded together to speak out against a series of proposed developments that they say are threatening the quiet neighbourhood overlooking Madliena ridge.
Three planning applications, all submitted on the same day in April (albeit by different applicants), are proposing to knock down four townhouses to build a series of five-floor apartment blocks within the same neighbourhood block.
The developments are being proposed across two roads, Triq iż-Żagħruna and Triq il-Madonna taż-Żellieqa, which sandwich a series of symmetrical two-floor terraced houses built in the 1970s.
The neighbourhood block has so far escaped the clutches of Malta’s development frenzy, but residents say that the proposed developments risk tarnishing the area’s traditional streetscape. Residents say that the houses, first built as social housing some four decades ago, are still home to the neighbourhood’s original residents, for the most part.
Applications suspended
But whether the developments will go ahead still remains a question at this stage. All three developments (PA/04274/24, PA/04275/24 and PA/04510/24) have been temporarily suspended at the request of their architect, Edwin Mintoff.
The reason why the applications were suspended is unclear, but PA documentation suggests that this could be down to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage’s mixed reaction to the proposals.In its reaction to one proposal, the superintendence says that since the project forms “part of an intact road of similar buildings”, the development “will impact the aesthetical value of the street, also creating blank party walls which may require mitigation”.
Arguing that the project should be sent back to the drawing board, the superintendence says that plans should be revised to be “more sympathetic to the aesthetical value of the street which may also require a change in volumes to achieve”.
In a letter signed by 11 residents, the group says that “although local plans allow for higher building heights, this doesn’t mean that permits for additional construction should be automatically granted,” echoing a position adopted by the Chamber of Architects.
Residents also call for a review of planning laws and policies, including higher fines for applications to demolish properties originally set out as social housing.
The residents say that their calls echo those of other residents across the country, from Santa Luċija, where a landmark court ruling scrapped a similar pencil development, to Swieqi, where plans to build a block of flats were recently approved.