Moviment Graffitti is rallying people to protest the "Villa Rosa monstrosity" in St George's Bay on October 26. 

The Villa Rosa site was back in the headlines this week after the government announced it was planning to revise local plans in the area that would enable the already massive project to grow even larger. 

Times of Malta had reported that amendments to the local plan would mean that a project for the site submitted by Anthony Camilleri could grow from the original 57,000 square metres proposed. 

Camilleri in 2018 was granted a permit to develop the prime site into a combination of low-rise offices, residences and shops. But before that development got underway, he submitted proposals to dramatically upsize the project, introducing a hotel and high-rise buildings. 

The authority has now unveiled the overarching themes that will guide the review and opened them to public consultation.

Following increased criticism by civil society, the company behind the project on Thursday said it was willing to reduce the height of the project in light of plans to review the local plan. 

But on Friday, Moviment Graffitti said the government’s decision to change the rules to accommodate the Tal-Franċiż project became blatantly obvious when the PA issued the document initiating the local plan review.

"While the PA has stated that the review will be 'limited specifically to the Villa Rosa site as delineated by the 2006 Local Plan',  in reality, the document covers an additional area beyond what is defined as Villa Rosa in the 2006 local plan.

"This additional area coincides with the site covered by PA/07254/22 - the Tal-Franċiż application, which seeks to build three towers, ranging from 27 to 34 floors, effectively burying St George’s Bay, engulfing the historic Villa Rosa building, and consuming the only open space left between St Julian’s and Pembroke."

The Villa Rosa site as per the 2006 Local Plan (source: Planning Authority - Villa Rosa Local Plan). Image: Moviment Graffitti

Moviment Graffitti said if any further evidence was needed, this clearly showed that the government simply wanted to satisfy developers' greed, going so far as to change the laws to accommodate a specific project.

"The Prime Minister’s claims of a 'public consultation' are thus a barefaced lie, as the intent of the whole process is simply and shamelessly to approve the Tal-Franċiż project. It is surely no coincidence that the site covered by the consultation process is precisely the site proposed for the Tal-Franċiż project."

The NGO added that while the developer’s declaration welcoming the review of the local plan surprised no one, his statements about reducing the height of the project were an insult to the public's intelligence.

The developer first submitted an application that went well beyond the limits established by the local plan, then pressured the government to change the plan to align with this monstrous project, and is now offering vague statements about “height” that, however, make no mention of “volume", the NGO said.

"People should be protected against such monstrosities by clear rules that safeguard their well-being and quality of life.

"They should not have to rely on the fake benevolence of construction magnates and their vague promises of slightly mitigating the massive injustices to be inflicted on them," it added.

The NGO urged people to object to the changes by emailing villarosa.consultation@pa.org.mt

It also said it was holding a meeting on October 26 at 10.30am at the Bay to voice its opposition to the "Villa Rosa monstrosity".

The site of PA/07254/22 (source: PA Map Server) Image: Moviment Graffitti