A controversial application to turn a 400-year-old baroque garden into a 10-storey hotel on the Pietà seafront was shot down by the Planning Authority’s planning board on Thursday.
In a board sitting which saw the attendance of activists and supporters of the NGO Friends of Villa Frere, the board said that the project had to be taken in the entire context of Guardamangia hill, which has a number of historic properties.
Board members also expressed concerns of overdevelopment and the massive scale of the project
Submissions on behalf of the applicant argued in favour of the hotel, citing investment in the area would improve the run down streetscape.
The proponents argued that the 118 room, four-star hotel would have minimal intervention into the existing garden and serve as an investment to the community.
The gardens and parts of the site’s facade would also be restored according to the applicant’s current plans.
Addressing concerns about the height of the development of the project highlighted by the DPAR report, representatives for the applicant said that the project had reduced its number of rooms and mass uptake significantly, and the recommendation that the project be reduced by one story could be detrimental to the economic viability of the hotel.
The applicant also made the case that the visual impact of the development on Villa Frere would be shielded by an existing school building and some trees.
Arguing that culture needs investment and vice versa, proponents for the development said that regeneration of the area would benefit the surrounding community and promised significant investment in the area.
Submissions from the Planning Directorate highlighted concerns with how the height and massing of the project would impact the surrounding heritage as well as how the effect of the development on the flow of traffic, due to the site’s location as a distributor road, citing these reasons for the recommendation for refusal.
A public submission from the Superintendence of Cultural heritage said that it had long warned on the importance of maintaining the integrity of the site and pushing for its conservation.
The SCH said in principle it was not opposed to the development of the site as long as the unique garden was maintained and the heritage elements of the site be properly maintained and restored.
It said the interest of heritage and developers could be equally represented in a project on the site but that the scale of the proper development was not conducive to this.
In a public submission Perit Edward Said, who chairs the NGO Friends of Villa Frere said that the project would spell doom for the Qrejten area in Pieta.
Mr Said said the NGO objected to the scale and height of the project would have on Villa Frere and the neighbouring property, as well as how the development of the hotel would inevitable dig up about a third of the existing gardens of Zamittello.
The altering of the context would have an irreversible impact on the historical and cultural importance of these sites.
A public submission by Din l-Art Helwa said that Pietà deserves better and was willing to work with the PA to develop a master plan that would allow for the regeneration of the area while integrating and preserving the cultural heritage of the area.
Public submissions against the proposed development were made by Heritage Malta and the Pietà local council, as well as two other members of the public.
News of the refusal was welcomed by Culutre Minister Jose Herrera who in Tweet said he was pleased to see that the historic garden was "there to stay".