The Planning Authority board has approved the redesigned 28-storey Townsquare high-rise in Sliema after earlier approved plans were thrown out by an appeals tribunal.
The new permit was approved by a majority of seven voted to three. The objectors were chairman Vince Cassar, Environment Resources Authority chairman Victor Asciak and NGO representative Annick Bonnello. Matthew Pace, whose place on the board has been mired by controversy after it transpired that he had a conflict of interest in the db project, was not present.
The hearing went smoothly, in stark contrast to the original hearing three years ago.
The height of the planned tower has been reduced by 11 storeys, or around 37 metres, after the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal last year revoked the original permit issued by the PA in 2016.
That decision followed appeals by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), Sliema local council, Din L-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and other eNGOs.
Most of these objections were dropped for the revised proposal and the application had been recommended for approval ahead of Thursday's public hearing by the PA board.
The revised plans feature the same number of apartments, 159, as the original proposal, but a reduction in the amount of floor-space for offices, retail and food and drink outlets.
'Largest pedestrian zone in Sliema centre'
The development will be built on the former Union Club site near the scheduled Villa Drago, which will be restored.
It will include an unchanged 7,500 square metres of public open space, which the developers say will become the largest pedestrian zone in the town centre and has been redesigned to include more greenery and a landscaped rear garden.
Developers also say the changes to the tower’s design - including the height reduction - will “dramatically reduce” its visual impact, a major point of objection in the first application process.
Visual, community impacts remain concerns
Nevertheless, ERA (which is not objecting to the project as a whole) expressed reservations over this impact, especially when seen from the Sliema and Gzira waterfronts, Valletta and Bighi, and said that given the scale being proposed, the effect was difficult to mitigate.
Sociological studies carried out as part of an Environment Impact Assessment on the new proposal also found that public perception to the project remains “generally negative” despite the changes, and that fears over its effect on the community had actually intensified among Tigné residents.
At the same time, the studies found that reactions to the project were more positive among young people and recently-arrived foreign residents.
Traffic, meanwhile, is expected to increase by around 21 per cent over current levels, with an average of 2,569 additional car trips along Qui-si-Sana on weekdays, down from 3,500 with the earlier plans.
Approval has been recommended against a €266,314 planning gain and €50,000 artistic fund contribution.
The developers, Townsquare Sliema, welcomed Thursday's decision by the Planning Authority Board.
Townsquare CEO Peter Diacono said: “We have gone to great lengths over the past year to address, and go beyond, the revisions requested by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal and are delighted that the Planning Authority has acknowledged these efforts.
Townsquare will be a project of the highest quality, and our team are excited to begin this next chapter to create a new dynamic space that Sliema can be proud of- Developers
“We have brought together the very best local and international talent and will now start working to make our vision a reality. Townsquare will be a project of the highest quality, and our team are excited to begin this next chapter to create a new dynamic space that Sliema can be proud of.”
“As we now focus on delivering the project, we also look forward to playing an active role in the local community and making a positive contribution to Sliema,” Mr Diacono said.
The saga so far
The original project had been approved by just a single vote margin when it came before the PA board in 2016, with ERA chairman Victor Axiak (who had raised serious criticisms over the plans) absent due to illness.
Objections at the time had highlighted the excessive visual impact, traffic and congestion problems in Qui-Si-Sana and the negative impact on nearby residents’ quality of life.
The appeal decision, which annulled the permit and sent the developers back to the drawing board, had primarily cited the inadequacy of impact studies carried out for the project, all of which have since been conducted anew.