Plans for dozens of villas along Xgħajra’s coastline close to Smart City are slated for refusal after the Planning Authority decided the application was premature since it came before the approval of changes to the city’s master plan.

When the outline application for the construction of 69 villas right next to Smart City was discussed by the PA board on Thursday, board members refused to accept a proposal that would have exceeded the total allowable residential area by almost 3,000 square metres.

They noted there is a pending application for the amendment of the master plan, approved in 2008, which should be decided before any other application.

Since the case officer recommended its approval, the case was deferred for two weeks when the board members are expected to vote against the recommendation.

PA board chairman Emanuel Camilleri said the application for the villa development was premature, arguing that the applicants “put the cart before the horse” given the pending application to amend the master plan.

The 67,000 square metre site is right below Fort St Rocco, which enjoys the highest level of heritage protection by the Planning Authority. 

The case officer recommended that the development be approved as it falls within the Grand Harbour Local Plan and does not exceed the total floor area approved in a similar application in 2009 when Smart City was approved. 

The case officer also noted that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) was not against the project because views from the fort to the sea were not obstructed. 

The SCH had said it “does not object to the proposed villas as the line of sight of the fort toward the open seas will be preserved, and the ditch will not be impacted. The layout of these buildings will follow the existing contours to mitigate the visual impact on the existing historic military structures, particularly Fort St Rocco”.

The outline development permit issued by the PA in 2009 had featured 51 residential dwellings, 18 fewer than the current proposal because the site was previously allocated for commercial use. 

However, the new proposal reduced the height of the proposed villas to 10 metres from the previous 14 metres. The architect told the PA board that the rows of villas will have a cascading effect towards the sea, without impinging on the overall view.

The villas are proposed on four rows, with roads in between. All villas will be a maximum of two storeys.