Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1029140
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 SEPTEMBER 2018 6 NEWS ANALYSIS Higher than the Vatican: Will the PA board approve TOMORROW the PA board will decide on a highly sym- bolic project which pits a La- bour-led local council against the db Group which have been granted a lease on the land in question by the present gov- ernment. A favourable recommenda- tion by the Planning Directo- rate makes approval likelier but this outcome is not inevitable. Just two years ago a 38-storey townsquare development in Sliema was also recommended for approval by the case officer. But it was approved by just a single vote only to be later revoked by an Appeals' Tribu- nal for being too "excessive". Conflicting interpretations of policies are likely to split board members again. Planning Policies which justify approval 1. The development is lo- cated in an area identi- fied in the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development for the ur- ban and commercial re- generation, and follows the strategy of locating jobs and homes within the urban area. 2. The local plan designates the site as an entertain- ment priority area and ideal for hotel develop- ment. 3. St Julian's is identified as one of the localities where high-rise develop- ment can be located. 4. The tall building pro- posed complies with the policy regulating high buildings and the one regulating hotel heights, both approved in 2014. Planning Policies which justify a refusal 1. The visual impact is ex- cessive and runs coun- ter to accepted plan- ning policies. The policy specifically dealing with high-rise development requires new tall build- ings to make a positive contribution to the ur- ban form and skyline. 2. The local plan required a development brief before any development is ap- proved on the site. 3. The FAR policy is only being applied on part of the site and this part is not surrounded by real roads on all sides as stat- ed in the policy. 4. The FAR policy states that tall buildings should be designed in a way, which avoids overshad- owing. The development is expected to overshad- ow hundreds of residenc- es immediately to the north and northwest of the site especially in the winter months. 5. The FAR policy requires that tall buildings should be located "away from residential priority ar- eas". The development is located in the vicinity of a housing estate in Pem- broke. 6. The tunnel proposed to make up for the increase of traffic created by the project still has to be ap- proved. How board members are expected to vote: Certainly against Dean Hili (Pembroke mayor) Annick Bonello (NGO repre- sentative) Probably against Marthese Portelli (Opposi- tion representative) Vote uncertain but had voted against similar projects in the past Vince Cassar (PA Chairman – had voted against Mercury House and Townsquare pro- jects but in favour of Mriehel towers) Victor Axiak (ERA Chairman – had objected to Townsquare and Mriehel project but voted in favour of Mercury house high-rise) Elisabeth Ellul (Deputy PA chairman – had voted against Townsquare development) Timmy Gambin (Independ- ent member appointed by gov- ernment – had voted against nearby Villa Rosa develop- ment) Simone Mousu (Public of- ficer in Ministry for Justice – had voted against Townsquare Project) Vote uncertain but more likely to vote in favour Clayton Bartolo (Govern- ment representative) Desiree Cassar (Independent member appointed by govern- ment) Matthew Pace (Independent member appointed by govern- ment) Jacqueline Gili (Department of Contracts) Ivan Tabone (Transport Mal- ta) Joseph Brincat (Independent member appointed by govern- ment) The project in numbers Gross floor area of project 109,919sq.m Height of hotel: 73 metres (18 storeys) Height of tower: 140.87 me- tres (38 storeys) Size of shopping mall: 18,753 sqm Amount of construction Waste: 336,085sq.m. Number of apartments in tower: 162 Money made from sale of apartments : €123 million (KP- MG report) Daily number of trucks need- ed during construction: 30 Number of hotel guests ex- pected each year: 7429 How excessive is the pro- ject? At 141 metres, if approved, the db Group's tower will be slightly higher than the Vati- can which rises to 138 metres from the floor of the basilica to the top of the cross found on the dome. It will be more than 40 metres higher than Porto- maso. A major argument in to- morrow's board meeting will be whether the development proposed is "excessive" or not. It was the same argument in- voked by PA chairman Vince Cassar when he voted against the Townsquare development in Sliema two years ago. The project was only ap- proved thanks to the absence of ERA Chairman Victor Axiak who was recovering from sur- gery and the favourable vote of the vast majority of govern- ment appointees sitting on the board. The project has already been described as being "out of scale" by the PA's own design panel: the Design Advisory Committee. On their part the develop- ers' consultants have not shied away from defending the pro- ject as " a strong (visual) state- ment signifying the commer- cialisation of the Maltese way of life." The case officer recog- nise the negative visual impact of the project but concluded that high rises are by "default and design unequivocally con- spicuous." Following the DAC's objec- tions the developers subse- quently made some changes by removing the crown structure on the hotel and reducing the tower's height by eight metres. But as noted by planning ex- pert John Ebejer "these chang- es are minor and have little or no effect or reducing the ex- cessive scale of the building". The case officer report indi- cates that the DAC was satis- fied by the changes but only after noting the "restrictions resulting from the protected underground geological fea- tures", which constrained the design of the project. The Pembroke factor Pembroke itself was never in- cluded in the list of localities where the tall buildings can be permitted. In the initial stages the project was redesigned to ensure that the high-rise com- ponent will take place on the ITS site in St Julian's and not on the carpark in Pembroke. But the impacts of the project including considerable shading in winter, will be felt by Pem- broke residents. The fact that the project will have its great- est impact on Pembroke is rec- ognized by the PA itself which accepted the participation of Pembroke mayor Dean Hili in tomorrow's meeting. The FAR policy also excludes residential areas from high-rise develop- ment. The development will also set a precedent for the Corinthia project.. Where the parties stand In a context where exist- ing ambiguous policies can be invoked both to approve or reject the db Group's pro- ject, much will depend on how government appointees on the PA board will vote. The pre- sent board includes three pub- lic officers representing the government. It also includes five 'independent members' appointed by government for their expertice on the "econ- omy, heritage, environment, development or architecture." With a few exceptions these board members tend to vote in favour of developments rec- ommended for approval by the directorate. This turns tomorrow's deci- sion in one which has political consequences. Also weighing on the board's decision is the fact that the site was earmarked for resi- dential development thanks to a 99-year emphyteusis deed which is still being investigated by the Auditor General. While at local level mayors hailing from both parties have opposed the project, party leaders have been lukewarm on taking a clear stance. Mus- cat had hinted at a possible compromise for undertaking the proposed development "sensibly and in a way which respected the neighbour- hood". But the changes made JAMES DEBONO JAMES DEBONO Photomontage of the City Centre project by the db Group in St George's Bay