A permit to turn the Villa Rosa site into a complex of offices, restaurants, villas and a language school has been overturned by a court due to the developer’s failure to follow site notice procedures.
Under the revoked plans, developer Anthony Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiż, had the green light to build restaurants, residents offices and a language school in front of St George's Bay in St Julian's. The developers also had permission to demolish two historic buildings in the area.
Camilleri obtained that permit in 2018 but works to develop the site never started, as he subsequently changed tack and presented a revised proposal to develop three large hotel towers on the site.
In the meantime, objectors took the developer to court, saying site notices were not affixed on one side of the project site and did not include the names of all the access roads next to the project.
This week, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti ruled that was good reason to scrap the approved permit.
The Planning Authority was wrong in not fully revoking the application to renew plans after learning that the developer failed to follow procedures, the court said.
Attached files
Therefore, Chetcuti ruled that the Planning Authority’s approval of the Villa Rosa project was no longer valid.
Camilleri's proposal to build a 34-storey tower and two 27-storey ones on the site has yet to be decided by the Planning Authority.
However, the developer has since said he is scrapping that proposal and will reissue a new one once a revision of the area's local plan is complete.
The court's decision means the Villa Rosa site is currently not covered by any development permit.
Objectors to Camilleri's vision for the site say that has big ramifications.
Activist Andre Callus said that the argument put forward by the government and the developer “that the site is already committed to development, and we are only trying to improve it” no longer holds water.
He also noted that the developer had already demolished two historic British-era buildings in the area as part of the now-revoked permit.
“What are they going to do now? Rebuild them again?” he said.
Contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Camilleri’s company, AC Investments, said the company “notes with concern that a simple and genuine mistake in an address led to the total cancellation of the renewal of the permit.”
They said the Planning Authority republished the application and allowed any person to participate in the process.
“The company is evaluating its position at law and will take any actions it considers appropriate in the circumstances,” they said.