The Planning Authority has asked the owners of two scheduled properties in Balluta to file applications for sanctioning after illegal works were carried out.
Times of Malta was alerted to the possibility of unpermitted works being carried out on two properties in Triq Ċensu Tabone, in St Julian’s, which are part of a row of houses that directly abut the Balluta church on the left-hand side.
While the Balluta church itself is Grade 1 scheduled, the highest level of heritage protection that can be granted to a building, the row of traditional houses on either side of it are listed as Grade 2 scheduled, meaning that some works, such as alterations to the interior, can be allowed to these buildings of architectural or historical interest.
However, these must be carried out sensitively and causing the least detriment to the character and architectural homogeneity of the building.
Works were carried out on the second house on the left, which saw alterations made to the building’s façade without a permit. The house last applied for a permit to carry out works to the building in 2016 through PA/04026/16, with the application seeking to demolish rooms in the backyard to build a new extended kitchen, living and dining space on the ground floor as well as a bedroom on the first floor and a washroom at roof level.
As a result of the façade works, the stone patina – the natural weathering of the stone due to oxidisation – was removed entirely and the original 19th-century apertures were removed and replaced with replicas.
A second illegality consists of the shifting of an aperture from the façade of the receded floor to its side, creating a section of blank wall on the façade of the house that directly neighbours the church on the left-hand side.
Asked by Times of Malta whether the PA was aware of the illegalities and what, if any, action it planned to take, a spokesperson for the authority confirmed their awareness of the situation and had requested the building owners to regularise themselves.
“In both cases, the Compliance & Enforcement Directorate has requested the owners of the two respective properties to submit sanctioning applications to address the illegalities,” the spokesperson said.