The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) has confirmed a Planning Authority decision to refuse permits for a guesthouse close to Villa Frere, throwing out an appeal filed by the developers.
In 2020, Pietà Estates Limited and architect Alan Galea filed a planning application to turn a dilapidated building on the Pietà seafront into a five-floor guesthouse, with plans to restore the façade and add guestrooms and garden terraces.
Heritage NGO Friends of Villa Frere warned that the proposed project would have a severe negative impact on two adjacent Grade 1 listed properties, Villa Frere and Giardino Zammittello, as well as “severely mutilate” a Grade 2 listed high baroque villa designed by 18th-century architect and civil engineer Antonio Cachia.
The PA’s case officer recommended the project for refusal and, in February 2022, the PA voted against granting the permit, saying that the proposed building’s height was “excessive” and that the design of the building would not retain the character of the area.
Pietà Estates appealed the decision with the EPRT, saying the principal reason the permit was denied was because of the impact the project would have had on neighbouring scheduled buildings.
However, had it been judged objectively against the merits of the town’s local plan, the development would have been acceptable and was proposed to be some seven metres lower than the maximum allowable height set out in those plans.
The developers argued that the site sorely merits regeneration and that they had not been averse to addressing the reasons for refusal.
In its decision, the EPRT said that it was not the case that the height of the proposed building was the only issue with the application, noting that the PA’s decision notice had pointed out several unaddressed issues.
On the matter of the building’s proposed height, the tribunal said that, given the context of the building, surrounded by scheduled properties, it would be prudent to be cautious about the type of development that should be allowed there.
“While the tribunal is in favour of regenerating and rehabilitating these properties, it must point out that one must be cautious on how to intervene in such a sensitive context and it is the onus of the PA to make sure that any development doesn’t negatively affect the value of the site context but must contribute positively to the immediate streetscape,” the decision said.
It added that, while height limitations set out in the local plan are not an automatic right, additional policies from SPED and DC15 give rise to other considerations that one should consider about the development in its full context.
“The context of this site is a very important material factor in this case and the tribunal believes that this must be given adequate protection,” the EPRT said.
Discussing the heritage concerns raised about the application, the tribunal added that it believes that the protection of cultural heritage should “take precedence” over height limitations set out by the local plan.
The PA, it said, should always consider external consultees in its decisions, even though these should not lead to an automatic refusal or approval of any one permit.
In this case, however, the EPRT found that the PA was in the right when it cited concerns from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage in its refusal of the permit.
A spokesperson for Friends of Villa Frere welcomed the decision as a positive development in the organisation’s fight to preserve Pietà’s built heritage.
“This was a victory and, with the tribunal expressing such a strong position, it makes us feel safe,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the group is still somewhat “in limbo” as it awaits the outcome of another application to determine the development of Giardino Zammitello.