Works to build a four-storey block next to a protected Tarxien villa that was the home of former prime minister Dom Mintoff can proceed, a court ruled on Friday.

The civil court lifted a prohibitory injunction provisionally upheld last month.

It ruled that owners of scheduled properties did not have the automatic right to block developments next door, and that the protected villa was at a greater risk if the partially completed works were to be halted at this stage than if the construction was to continue.

The project is to build 11 underground garages, six apartments on two levels, a penthouse and three other maisonettes next to The Olives on Triq ix-Xintill. 

The Olives was given Grade 1 heritage protection by the Planning Authority - 
the highest possible level of protection – in May 2018

Yana Mintoff Bland, its present-day occupant, had filed an application for a warrant of prohibitory injunction against the company which is carrying out the development next door.

The Planning Authority had granted developers a development permit in July 2018.

Works began in May, with developers demolishing the terraced house that stood on the site and excavating the area. 

Last month, however, a court provisionally upheld a prohibitory injunction, forcing developers to stop all works. 

By then, excavation was completed and the new building reached basement level. 

The court heard how the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had said the project could continue, following an on-site meeting held between its representatives, Dr Mintoff Bland and her architect and the project developers. 

It dismissed the applicant's objections about a common party wall, noting that developers were building a new wall, supported and detached from the villa next door.

After taking into consideration the various facts of the case, the court declared that the requisites for the prohibitory injunction had not been satisfied, thereby revoking its earlier decree which had temporarily halted the project. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.