The Planning Authority has refused to renew a permit for the construction of a residential block for eight apartments and underlying garages on a vacant plot of land in Triq Abdosir in Marsaxlokk which is near a Grade 2 protected building.

The Planning Commission said in a statement the site’s constraints had changed since the development permit had been issued in July 2018.

In 2020, the PA issued guidelines calling for special attention to evaluating development proposals in close proximity to scheduled buildings.

These guidelines became mandatory with the renewal of this development permission since the site is only 10 metres away from Villa Agius Catania.

The authority believes that the setting around a protected building is an essential part of the building and the way in which it is experienced. 

The PA had scheduled Villa Agius Catania as a Grade 2 building in 1994.