An application for an extra floor at the Panorama Hotel in Mellieħa is a test for Prime Minister Robert Abela’s pledge to safeguard the skylines of our villages, eNGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has warned.
The NGO said the project is a “touchstone” for Abela’s promises about the aesthetics and sustainability of new building projects, about safeguarding the skylines of our villages and last but not least about respecting the rights of residents.
The Planning Authority will decide on the hotel’s application on Friday. A decision was meant to be taken last week but most of the PA board expressed their intention to vote against the directorate’s recommendation, forcing a deferral.
The hotel originally wanted to build three storeys but scaled it down when the PA said it was unacceptable.
Ahead of this decision, the FAA said that Malta’s well-being can be only achieved through sustainable development and the protection of open spaces.
“Ongoing construction is producing dusty, noisy, unlivable neighbourhoods, causing an alarming rate of respiratory diseases and killing people in the rubble of their own houses, while the PA continues to issue permits which violate PA regulations, destroying iconic skylines, open landscapes and bays,” the FAA said.
On the Panorama Hotel development, the NGO said the hotel was built on a ridge edge so the Hotel Limitation Adjustment Policy did not apply to it. It said the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Environmental Health Directorate and Mellieħa Local Council objected to the proposal which ran counter to PA policies which specify that building shall not exceed the permissible height and that large expanses of blank rear and party walls are not acceptable for development on ridge edges.
It said the extra floor will hide iconic Mellieħa church from some viewpoints while exposed blank party walls will ruin long-distance views of Mellieħa.
The application also violates other policies on the protection and enhancement of the area`s character. Any new development has to fit into the urban setting, not be a long-term burden for local infrastructure or an eyesore for local residents and visitors to Għadira, it said.
FAA pointed out that politicians' promises of protection to residents and respect for aesthetics mean nothing if permits like this are approved.
“Preservation of Malta’s skylines and landscapes will pay off in the long-term and be beneficial for the country. To quote the Prime Minister: ‘Let’s go for intelligent development which does not ruin the country.’,” FAA said.