A plan for a 31-storey hotel in Sliema at the site of the former Holiday Inn is drawing fierce objections from residents and NGOs due to its “excessive height” and the impact on the historic Fort Cambridge barracks.

Submitted by GAP Ltd, the project is a scaled-down version of a previous proposal which was 11 metres higher. However, a request by the Sliema council to safeguard the historic barracks dating back to the turn of the 20th century could play a key role in the fate of this application.

Should the Planning Authority grant such a request, it would represent a major obstacle for the developer as under the current policy the construction of high-rise hotels on scheduled historical buildings is forbidden.

Under the revised plans, a significant section of the barracks would be destroyed while the façade would be incorporated in the tower.

The planning authority is currently receiving feedback on the tower proposal as part of the mandatory public consultation period, which closes on Friday.

So far, over 100 objections have been filed, mostly on grounds of the visual impact, heritage considerations and traffic. 

Describing it as incongruous with its surroundings and disproportionately high, objectors are expressing concern that the tower would negatively impact Valletta’s UNESCO world heritage status.

NGOs are saying the proposal would be in breach of the Hotels Height Adjustment Limitation Policy, which states that ‘proposals should be sited where visual impact within their context and on sensitive historic environments and their settings such as world heritage sites, conservation areas and scheduled buildings is minimised’.

Criticism was also levelled at the photomontages presented as views from narrow streets close to this development were not taken into consideration.

Tower would negatively impact Valletta’s UNESCO heritage status

Objectors pointed out that a traffic impact assessment which had been carried out in 2015 had become “obsolete” as the number of cars on the roads kept rising, while warning that the surrounding area could become gridlocked.

Concerns were also raised on the shadowing effects which the hotel would have especially on Triq Tigné which would be in “permanent deep shade”.

As for the impact on the historic barracks, it is being pointed out that the proposal would result in the “near total demolition” as only the façade would survive.

Objectors are also insisting that the proposal is a complete departure from the Fort Cambridge Development Brief of 2007, which had excluded development on the barracks.

Objections are also being based on various ‘breaches’ including SPED (Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development) policies, and a legal notice (LN 227/16) on the road height to width ratio. According to the objectors, this would cap building heights at 45 metres and not 136 metres as the proposal entails.