Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1202670
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 JANUARY 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's de- sign advisory committee has warned that a hotel extension has led to a deleterious impact on the Valletta streetscape and long distance views. The small Ursulino hotel is set to expand by expanding in- to a neighbouring property in St Ursula Street and through the addition of three new floors, raising the height of the building to six floors above the ground floor instead of the ex- isting four levels, one of which recently approved at a receded level. The application by hotel own- er Andrew Sultana foresees merging neighbouring proper- ties, internal alterations to the existing properties, the con- struction of additional floors, and the change of use of the ex- isting guesthouse and dwelling to a fully-blown 34-room hotel. The existing 11-room hotel, which does not include the nearby residential property al- ready, includes three full floors above the ground floor and a receded fourth floor which was approved in 2017. But the Design Advisory Committee, a panel appointed to advise the Planning Author- ity on design issues. has already issued a stern warning that "the proposal would have a deleteri- ous impact on the streetscape as well as the long-distance views of Valletta – a UNESCO world heritage city". The committee has called for a change of plans insisting that a proposed fourth floor is retained at its present receded alignment and not turned in to a full floor as proposed. It also said that only one further receded floor should be con- sidered for hotel services, thus excluding a proposed receded sixth floor which is set to in- clude a pool and a bar. Sultana had started the pro- ject by purchasing the small property in St Ursula Street "with an idea of giving guests a quiet and luxurious home- away-from-home that they could return to after exploring the city". "I knew that it was important to offer our guests the best views of the Grand Harbour, and the result is our spectac- ular roof terrace, which offers guests at Ursulino Valletta the most magnificent views of one of the most beautiful ports on the planet," Sultana said in an interview with a travel blog. Valletta six-storey hotel will impact long-distance views The existing Ursulino Hotel in Valletta and (left) a technical rendering of the proposed development MATTHEW AGIUS A court has heard how a recent arson attack on a man's parked Mercedes was an act of revenge, as a couple was accused of carrying out the attack, four days after a third individual was charged with procuring the accelerant used in the blaze. 29-year-old Judith Bakoush and Omar Joseph Trabelsi, 31, appeared in the dock before magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace this morning, ac- cused of setting fire to the Mercedes and causing damage to another car parked next to it in November last year. Bakoush alone was also charged with complicity in the arson by giv- ing the order and inciting the oth- er persons involved to commit the crime. In addition, Bakoush was also accused of breaching bail conditions as well as a conditional discharge. Trabelsi was also accused of recidi- vism. The two accused chatted affection- ately as they waited for the sitting to begin. Bakoush, her hair in a pink ponytail, fidgeted in the dock as the preliminaries were concluded. When the court got underway, a plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of the accused couple. Bail was requested, with lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, ap- pearing for Bakoush, arguing that the woman had been given police bail at least five times since her arrest and had always signed her bail book and appeared in court as required. "The charges date back to November 10, your honour, had they wanted to ap- proach any witnesses this would have been done already," he submitted. However, inspector Jeffrey Sciclu- na, prosecuting, objected "with all his might" against bail. "This was a case of revenge," he said, without elaborating. He pointed to the wom- an's long criminal record as proof of her untrustworthiness. She had been given police bail five times, he said, but the last two times, she had tried to avoid signing and sent bogus med- ical certificates, added the inspec- tor. He also objected to bail on the ground of the nature of the charges. Debono submitted that Bakoush al- so had 3 young children to take care of. The court, after hearing submis- sions, denied bail to Bakoush. Trabelsi's lawyer, Yanika Zammit Tabona, informed the court that the man was currently being held at the maximum security wing of Mount Carmel Hospital and was finding this to be beneficial. "The aim is to beat his drug addiction," she said. "He starts rehab next month." The court was asked to order a ban on the publication of the man's name to avoid embarrassment to his fami- ly, but the court refused the request after the prosecution objected, say- ing the request had no basis at law. The court urged the director of prisons to allow Trabelsi to get the care he needed. Couple accused of setting man's Mercedes alight in act of revenge