A partially unfenced construction site in Paceville left a sheer drop into the plot exposed from the pavement on Tuesday.

The site of the former Rose and Lily Bar in Paceville, on the corner of Luigi Apap Street and St George’s Road, is currently being redeveloped into a seven-floor building intended to be a restaurant with overlying office buildings. 

However, residents who spoke to Times of Malta voiced concern that while work is ongoing, part of the site is being left open and accessible from the pavement on Luigi Apap Street, potentially creating a dangerous situation for unsuspecting pedestrians making use of the street. 

Photos sent to Times of Malta show that the drop into the construction site is accessible from the pavement.

The pavement is mostly unobstructed, except for the digger positioned at the very end. The rest of the site has been cordoned off with large concrete blocks. 

Two planning applications were filed on the site by Antoine Micallef and architect Gilbert Bartolo, the first in 2016 for the demolition of the existing buildings and a six-floor office block. The second application sought an additional floor. The Planning Authority approved both applications. 

According to the most recent approved plans for the building, the building will have a below-street-level basement of 2.6 metres and an underground rainwater reservoir of an additional three metres. 

It is unclear how much of that depth has already been excavated from the site. 

The approved drawings for the building under construction suggest that excavation work is planned to go down to over five meters. Photo via Planning Authority

A digital render of what the building under construction will eventually look like. Photo via Planning Authority

According to the legal notice regulating construction site management, when working in a construction site that doesn’t exceed seven metres from street level, erecting hoarding around the site is “mandatory”. 

“Such hoarding shall be designed in a manner that conceals the site and protects adjacent areas from the egress of dust and from materials which may fall from within the site,” the regulations read.

The section of the legal notice regulating construction site management

George Stephen Darmanin, president of the Malta Occupational Safety and Health Practitioners Association, told Times of Malta that the site should always be properly secured with hoarding in a way that prevents the public from wandering in and that workers should have a designated entryway to access the site safely. 

“As a rule of thumb, if it were possible for a person to fall in, then the site is considered unsafe,” he said. 

He added that typically, in situations where workers are unable to carry out their work from a completely closed-off site, what generally happens is that a separate permit is sought to close off part of the pavement for work to continue safely. If possible, a parking space is then blocked off for pedestrians to walk through safely until they can rejoin the pavement. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

“The ultimate goal is to ensure safe access for workers and the public,” Darmanin said. 

“But this situation, judging from the photographs seen, appears dangerous and without any suitable controls.” 

Times of Malta has sent questions to the Building and Construction Authority.