Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1004621
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 JULY 2018 NEWS A Mellieha nine-floor com- plex for 121 apartments and a hotel will affect vistas from the Mizieb, Imbordin and Xemxija hamlets due to its lo- cation on Mellieha ridge. Town's End Mellieha Ltd is proposing the project on an open storage area that is adja- cent to the former Belleview bakery, and is currently full of vehicles, bricks, large blocks and dumped construction waste. Gozitan developer Jo- seph Portelli is backing the project. Permits for terraced houses were issued in the 1990s but these were never built. In 2015, the Lands Department issued a tender for the sale of the plots, for bids not less than €2.5 million for consid- eration. While exempting the pro- ject from a full environment impact assessment, the En- vironment and Resources Authority said the nine-floor complex will impact the sky- line since its neighbouring buildings were in line with the three-floor limit for the area. The Height Limitation Ad- justment Policy for Hotels, 2014, allows for a potential two additional floors, over and above the height permit- ted by the Local Plan, which would be translated into a 25m-height from the highest street level. But this policy does not apply to so called "ridge-edge sites" and "edge of development zone" sites as in this case. Nine-storey vista threat JAMES DEBONO A six-storey apartment block will replace two old Sliema townhouses in the corner between Amery and Luzju Street. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage argued for the preservation of the façade of the two buildings. But the PA's planning commission decided against retaining the façade after the project's ar- chitect presented a report showing the façade is in "a very bad and unstable state of repair". The Superintendence had described the façades as hav- ing traditional architectural features and elements of cul- tural value, and that although there are some modern build- ings in the area, the majority of the existing streetscape is still "widely traditional and preserved". The Superintendence in- sisted the façade should be retained and restored and all additional storeys should be set back. The case officer overruled the objections of the cultural heritage watchdog due to its lack of feedback on the latest plans submitted by the devel- oper, which still removed the facades, and said the houses do not possess any features or characteristics "which would militate against the demoli- tion." The case officer also said proposed development had a suitable design for the area, particularly in view of the recent approval of a devel- opment in the vicinity which saw demolition of three other townhouses, also deemed to have no traditional architec- tural features worthy of re- tention. Demolition order for Amery Street townhouses