The Planning Authority has called for plans for yet another apartment block at the edge of Naxxar’s urban conservation area to be improved to ensure a better transition from the old to the new.
The project was sent back to the drawing board after PA board members indicated that they were not happy with the current proposal, which would have seen the building of a four-storey block of 72 maisonettes, apartments and penthouses as well an underlying complex of 78 garages.
The project is earmarked for a 3,100-square-metre vacant plot at il-Gwejdja, partly facing Pjazza Celsi and surrounded by two new streets off Triq il-Markiz Scicluna.
The site, which is currently being used for agricultural purposes, lies partly within the Urban Conservation Area of Naxxar. It overlooks the former trade fair grounds and is adjacent to another proposed project of five blocks, each 10 storeys high, that was also sent back to the drawing board by the PA board.
Addressing the board members, mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami stressed the need for a traffic impact assessment.
NGO representative AnickBonello agreed, insisting that the traffic impact statement had to cover not only the area of this proposal but also other similar development being proposed in the vicinity.
“We are creating modern fortifications around our village cores. We are fragmenting UCAs which will eventually be hidden by tall buildings. Is this where we really want to go?” Bonello said.
We are creating modern fortifications around our village cores. We are fragmenting UCAs which will eventually be hidden by tall buildings. Is this where we really want to go?
Objections were made by various stakeholders, including neighbours, Din l-Art Helwa, the Design Advisory Committee and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, which said it was concerned about the impact the development would have on the village core.
It noted that three Grade I scheduled properties lie close to the site – Torri Gauci and the adjoining residential property some 330 metres away, and Palazzo Parisio at a distance of just 150 metres.
The case officer recommended the project for approval and defended her decision throughout the board meeting, insisting that it was in line with the PA’s various policies and that there was a smooth transition between the old part and the proposed project, with the development stepping upwards away from the Urban Conservation Area.
However, many board members said they were not happy with such a massive development so close to the urban conservation area.
Chairman Vincent Cassar said he expected to see some more greenery and said that a four-storey blank party wall was “not desirable”.
Rather than having the project voted down, the developer and his architect opted for a suspension so that they could revisit the plans.