Plans to build a five-storey apartment block that would tower just 200 metres away from the protected Ġgantija Temples in Xagħra have been put on hold on the request of the applicant’s architects following a barrage of objections to the project.
According to the Planning Authority website, application PA4782/22 has been suspended at the request of architect Godwin Sultana on behalf of his clients Leanne Portelli and Jodie Lee Borg.
The developers want to develop a site in Triq il-Mitħna just across the road from the Grade 1 listed Ta’ Kola Windmill.
The superintendence...draws attention to the importance of context in preserving the values of scheduled properties- Superintendence of Cultural Heritage
They applied for permission to remove dilapidated structures, excavate the site and construct 13 garages, a reservoir at lower ground floor level, two maisonettes, 10 apartments on the next four floors as well as a garden and two pools in the backyard and another two swimming pools on the top floor.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage objected to the planned project on a site that lies just 40 metres from the windmill and just over 200 metres from Ġgantija Temples.
The superintendence insisted there should be no excavation given the proximity to the protected sites.
Photomontages requested from various angles
It requested a detailed photographic survey of the existing building since it was aware of structures that may have a degree of vernacular value.
“The superintendence also notes with concern the considerable increase in height as currently proposed and draws attention to the importance of context in preserving the values of scheduled properties,” it said.
It requested photomontages of the proposed development from various standpoints including from the Ġgantija visitor centre and other points within the archaeological site.
NGO Wirt Għawdex too insisted that the context of scheduled buildings was “as important as the protected structures themselves”.
Such a voluminous building on a street that consists mainly of terraced houses on two to three floors was “very much incongruous with the surroundings”, it said.
The development would forever change the context of Malta’s best preserved windmills from the Knights’ period.
High-rise building compromising World Heritage sites
“Malta has a national obligation to preserve the context and buffer zones of its UNESCO World Heritage Sites. High-rise buildings are compromising these World Heritage Sites,” it added.
Environmental NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa had objected to the proposed apartment block, saying it would affect the visual integrity of the two sites.
It quoted a recent court of appeal judgment saying that the building height limitation permitted through the local plan was not a given but must be considered alongside other applicable policies and the context of the area.
FAA also objected strongly to this proposed application on the grounds of its impact on the historic context. Moreover, given that the site is located within two buffer zones of historic structures, it was shocking that the Planning Authority published the application without even the basic UCA requirement of a street elevation showing the proposed development alongside neighbouring buildings.
It noted that the Planning Authority 2020 policy protecting historic settings is already being forgotten by the same PA. "Why should it be up to NGOs to time and again, insist on the legally-required calibrated photomontages to illustrate the visual impact on surrounding monuments?" it asked.
Earlier this month, the PA’s Planning Commission postponed a decision on yet another proposed development near Ġgantija Temples, this time for 27 apartments on three floors just 150 metres away in Triq il-Parsott, Xagħra. It requested evidence that UNESCO did not object to the proposal.