A planning application to erect a double-sided LED billboard in Sliema has been reopened for evaluation after the planning review tribunal flagged an oversight in the process.
Times of Malta reported in May that residents had filed an appeal against the billboard along the Sliema waterfront on grounds it would impinge on road safety and have a visual impact.
In 2019, the Planning Authority initially granted applicant Paul Zammit a permit to put up the billboard, which is planned to measure four by three metres and placed on a centre strip in Triq ix-Xatt, facing traffic in both directions.
The plans for the billboard are in breach of planning policies that seek to reduce hazardous risks- Lawyer Claire Bonello
In its decision on the appeal, the tribunal ruled that the PA was incorrect to say that Transport Malta had given the project the green light, as plans for the billboard had changed after the transport regulator submitted its opinion on the application.
Following that submission, the billboard had gone from one-sided to double-sided and changed in orientation.
Since no additional consultation or approval from Transport Malta had been sought after the plans were changed and considering that the authority’s consent is required for road safety to be adequately considered, the PA had made a “procedural mistake” in this regard, the tribunal found.
Permit annulled, sent back to PA
In light of this, the tribunal said it had no choice but to decline the applicant’s arguments against the appeal. It ordered that the permit be annulled and sent back to the PA for re-evaluation.
Following the tribunal’s granting of the appeal, Transport Malta has since objected to the billboard application, citing its own technical requirements for electronic billboards.
The requirements hold that these should not be installed within 150 metres of approaching junctions or pedestrian crossings.
In a letter dated October 20, the transport regulator reconfirmed its objection, which was filed on September 2.
Since the application has reopened, residents have refiled their objections, reiterating their belief that the billboard will be hazardous to both drivers and pedestrians and will have a visual impact on the people living in the vicinity.
In an objection, lawyer Claire Bonello said that the plans for the billboard are in breach of planning policies that seek to reduce hazardous risks through design and location.
The application, she added, is also in breach of a number of the billboard and advert regulations, namely that only one electronic screen should be allowed at a single location, that the location of the billboard should not impair the sightliness of any traffic warnings or signs and that third party rights should not be affected.