Plans for a five-storey block of apartments close to the Ġgantija Temples have been reactivated, after they were suspended by the developers following a barrage of objections.
In January, PA/4782/22 was suspended at the behest of architect Godwin Sultana on behalf of his clients, Leanne Portelli and Jodie Lee Borg.
The developers are asking permission to remove dilapidated structures and partially excavate the site to build 13 garages, a reservoir, two maisonettes, 10 apartments on the next four floors, a garden and two pools in the backyard, with another two pools on the roof.
The site is located just across the street from the Grade 1 scheduled Ta’ Kola windmill and some 200 metres from the Ġgantija Temples.
The proximity of the proposed development to such culturally valuable sites attracted an objection from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, which is insisting that no excavation should take place.
It also requested photomontages be drawn up of the proposed building from various standpoints, including from the Ġgantija visitor centre and other points within the archaeological site.
“The superintendence also notes with concern the considerable increase in height as currently proposed and draws attention to the importance of context in preserving the values of scheduled properties,” it said.
At the time of writing, the requested photomontages had not been included with the publicly available documents for the application on the Planning Authority’s portal. The publicly available documents also did not include any new plans for the development, with the drawings submitted in June and July 2022 remaining valid as per the application.
The planned project attracted a barrage of objections, including from environmental NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, which said the proposed development would affect the visual integrity of the two sites. In another objection, NGO Wirt Għawdex said the context of scheduled buildings was “as important as the protected structures themselves”.
Such a voluminous building on a street that consists mainly of terraced houses on two to three floors was “very much incongruous with the surroundings”, it said.
“Malta has a national obligation to preserve the context and buffer zones of its UNESCO World Heritage Sites. High-rise buildings are compromising these World Heritage Sites.”
Environmental NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar has presented testimony from leading foreign archaeologists and has been in touch with UNESCO throughout the process.