Local plan for Villa Rosa site unchanged despite public consultations

A revised local plan for the Villa Rosa site in St George’s Bay has remained unchanged following two rounds of public consultation by the Planning Authority.

Robert Abela’s cabinet has approved the final plan and will announce it in the coming weeks, Times of Malta is informed.

The plan will allow the developer who owns the site, Anton Camilleri, known as tal-Franċiż, to build a 39-storey hotel and two additional hotels of up to 22 storeys each on the site, along with a convention centre and some low-lying retail and residential developments. 

A large stretch of land spanning the width of the site and reaching the valley in its northwestern point will be designated as open public space.

Planning Minister Clint Camilleri confirmed earlier this week that the process to review the local plan amendments has concluded.

No changes to draft plans – planning minister

Asked if there had been any changes to the draft plans published late last year, Camilleri said he is informed that there had not been any.

Camilleri added that there is an ongoing “environmental impact assessment screening” which will determine if there is a need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

An SEA is an exercise to determine how a policy shift or amendment can affect the environment.

Sources said that the Cabinet was updated on the local plan changes procedures earlier this month, in a sparsely attended meeting that also tackled the government’s plan to overhaul Malta’s planning system.

That plan to revise PA laws sparked uproar and forced the government to announce a public consultation into that process. The furore surrounding those changes also led the Robert Abela-led government to hold back from announcing its Villa Rosa decision, sources said.

It is the second time that ministers have given the thumbs up to an overhaul of the Villa Rosa local plan.

Cabinet first approved changes to the site’s plan in October but paused that process after Times of Malta revelations about that decision prompted the PA to launch a public consultation into the changes.

The 2006 local plan for the Villa Rosa site that will soon be obsolete.

Current local plan drafted in 2006

The current local plan for Villa Rosa was drafted in 2006 and allows a maximum of 55,000 square metres of gross developable floorspace (GDF) in the area, though a hotel-focused PA policy introduced in 2014 effectively allowed development to intesify without any real cap on GDF.

The revised one will triple the 2006 GDF cap, to just under 150,000 square metres.

When the PA first unveiled its public consultation for the site last October, its list of objectives for the revision mirrored, almost word-for-word, objectives presented by the site’s owner and developer.

Camilleri had previously unveiled plans to build a 34-storey tower and two 27-storey ones at the site. His company subsequently said it would scrap that plan and present a new one following the PA’s public consultation.   

The PA launched a second round of consultation in April, and when it did so it presented a revised map of the area that divides the site into 12 zones, as opposed to the eight included in the 2006 local plan.

The revised local plan first unveiled in April, which cabinet has now approved.

That second round of consultation stretched to June and resulted in no changes to the PA’s plans, which will allow for a 39-floor tower at the bottom of Triq Santu Wistin (next to the Bay Street main entrance), a 22-storey tower at the Pembroke end of St George’s Bay, and another tower of the same height in the area adjacent to Villa Rosa gardens.

The towers must not impede the view of the historic Villa Rosa building from St George’s Bay and ensure that the bay – popular among tourists – is not left in the shade.

A section in the centre of the site, in between the tower-focused zones, will be reserved for low-rise retail areas and a convention centre.

The proposed redevelopment scheme also includes at least 5,100 square metres of public open space, including a stretch running across the width of St George’s Bay and reaching towards the rear of the Villa Rosa site.

The 2006 local plan for the site only designates a small patch of land at the Paceville end of St George’s Bay as public open space. That patch has been occupied by various bars and catering establishments for decades.

A spokesperson for Camilleri was approached for comment.