Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1183404
10 JAMES DEBONO NEW doubts have been cast on the approval of a 10-storey block of 71 apartments over- looking the Wied Ghomor valley, instead of the Halland hotel. Appellants objecting to the project have presented a de- tailed report documenting a number of policy breaches, including a blatant disregard for a policy requiring devel- opers to keep 60% of the site's footprint undeveloped. But the Planning Authority has defended its decision as an "acceptable compromise" dic- tated by the particular nature of the site. The project proposed by the Tumas Group, a pyramidical structure rising above the val- ley and designed by architect Ray De Micoli, was approved by the PA board last year. An appeal to the PA's Environ- ment and Planning Review Tribunal has been presented by the Swieqi and San Gwann local councils and the Tal- Ibragg Complex Association. One of the most contentious arguments against the devel- opment is that according to the Development Control and Design Guidelines of 2015, which limit site cover-age in the villa area to 40% of the site, the footprint of the pro- ject should have been limited to 1,474sq.m. This stems from the fact that the local plan designates the site of the hotel as a residen- tial priority area for "detached and semi-detached dwellings" with a site cover-age of 30%. This was increased to 40% in the 2015 DCDGs. But the approved plans show that the floor con- taining the entrance to the new development will cover a footprint of 3,060sq.m, which amounts to a site cov- erage of over 80% of the site. The first floor, which is at pavement level, also exceeds the allowable site coverage by 330sq.m. The present Halland hotel has a footprint of 1,587sq.m or 40% of the site. But in this case the PA de- liberately seems to have in- vented an "ad hoc" policy for this site by coming up with an unprecedented formula: that of calculating the "max- imum developable gross floor area" by multiplying the 40% site coverage per- mitted by policy – 1,474sq.m – by 7.75 floors, to award a maximum of 11,423sq.m of development. Omitted from this calcula- tion were the three bottom floors at the level of the pub- lic lane, which will have 18 apartments overlooking the valley. Moreover, six of the eight floors included in the calculation were in excess of the 40% site coverage. Indeed, the calculation of the Gross Floor Area by the PA's case officer was limited to the internal area, exclud- ing "covered or uncovered balconies". This contrasts with the definition of GFA as found in the policy which clearly includes "all internal and usable external space." Malta's villa and bungalow areas have site coverage rules purposely so as to protect open spaces by limiting foot- prints of any proposed devel- opment. In this case no such open spaces have been cre- ated because the pyramidi- cal structure ensures that the bottom floor – not included in the floor area calculation – oc- cupies most of the site, while the upper floors are set on top of them. This suggests that the shape of the development itself was intended to skirt around policy requirements. PA's 'acceptable compromise' In its response the PA has defended itself by referring to the particular nature of the case in which the authority was faced with: a proposal to demolish an aged hotel and develop a residential-type de- velopment whilst "retaining the existing building height in a surrounding context that harbours a residential priority area". The PA said it had to con- sider all the above planning considerations and adopt an "acceptable approach within the parameters of the policy". The authority referred to the replacement of the L-shaped hotel with a design "flexing the zoning parameters in the lower floors and compensat- ing in the upper floors" with the "overall result consisting of a waved replacement build- ing with set-backs on each floor overlooking Wied il- Kbir, which is acceptable from an aesthetic point of view." The residents' and council's appeal refers to several other policy breaches, including the policy banning over-develop- ment on ridges and deviations from the 2016 local plan which regulates the site through two policy maps: one designating the site of the hotel as villa and bungalow area, and one which foresees the retention of "ex- isting heights". Residents contend that the hotel could only have been developed as a villa and bun- galow area. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS Ad hoc policy invented for Halland, residents claim The PA deliberately seems to have invented an "ad hoc" policy for this site by coming up with an unprecedented formula: that of calculating the "maximum developable gross floor area" by multiplying the 40% site coverage permitted by policy – 1,474sq.m – by 7.75 floors, to award a maximum of 11,423sq.m of development Residents and San Gwann and Swieqi councils contend that the hotel could only have been developed as a villa and bungalow area MINISTRY FOR JUSTICE, CULTURE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT