Gozitan mega developers Joe Portelli and his associates have blasted criticism directed at their latest controversial project in Sannat.
Defending the granting of a permit by the Planning Authority to build an apartment block, the developers said the project will make Sannat look better.
Providing artist’s impressions of their project, a spokesman for the developers said that “the characteristics of the building will be left untouched and the building will complement the previous dwelling.”
“The project will regenerate an existing structure into high quality residential units which will instil a new lease of life to the area,” he told Times of Malta.
Accusing critics, including the media, of “attempting to vilify the project by implying that the apartments would not respect the characteristics of the village,” J. Portelli Projects said that the 15-apartment block will replace a two-storey vernacular dwelling that is currently in a “dilapidated state and is considered as an eyesore by many”.
Insisting that the permit is according to policy, the developers underlined that their project is “not located in an Urban Conservation Area”.
In his report, however, the PA case officer said that the development was situated in a UCA. The PA’s geoportal also confirms this.
If restored, the current building would contribute even more positively to the surroundings
The Sannat local council yesterday insisted that it is still against the development and is considering filing an appeal.
The council said that “the site is fully and wholly within Sannat’s Urban Conservation Area” and the planning commission went against the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage which “twice recommended the retention of the house and not just the façade due to its characteristics”.
A screengrab from the PA’s geoportal indicating that the development is in the Urban Conservation Area of Sannat (marked in brown).Refuting the developer’s suggestion that the house is currently an eyesore, the council stressed that “if restored, the current building would contribute even more positively to the surroundings.
“Normally, penthouses, as proposed by the developer, are not approved in UCAs over and above the height limitation which stands at two stories,” the council said.
Originally, the developers wanted to demolish the whole house, which comes with a large garden, and instead erect 15 garages and 16 apartments on three storeys.
Instead of throwing out the application, the PA’s commission, led by Elizabeth Ellul, asked the developers to retain the façade of the vernacular building and revise their plans.
Fresh plans by the developers retained the façade and reduced the number of flats to be built from 16 to 15, obtaining the green light from the PA.
According to the Sannat council, “when the developers accepted to retain the façade, the whole development was raised by a further half-storey”.
The development’s application is in the name of Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, while the apartments were listed for sale on the website of J. Portelli Projects in April 2019, two weeks before the application was published by the PA.
These are the same developers who last week obtained another controversial permit to turn dilapidated ruins in Qala into a sprawling villa.
Following public outrage, J. Portelli Projects said that they were renouncing this permit.