Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1246053
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 MAY 2020 NEWS C h a r i t y Fo u n d a t i o n FIDEM CONNECT unite . connect . change by FIDEM Charity Foundation JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's planning commission will de- cide 20 May the fate of an old Birkirkara townhouse, whose demolition for speculative de- velopment signals it might not be torn down. The two-storey building in- side the urban conservation ar- ea is earmarked for a four-sto- rey development with 10 garages, a terraced house, two maisonettes and nine apart- ments. But it hit a brick wall after the case officer recommended its refusal after describing it as "speculative development". The development is being proposed by Jason Mifsud's Grand Property Holdings, and designed by architect and for- mer planning minister George Pullicino. The case officer said the pro- ject would "rescind the entirety of the heritage value of the site in favour of a speculative devel- opment." Earlier plans foresaw the complete demolition of the buildings, but new plans pro- posed the part demolition, and retaining the main façade with its St Joseph niche. Internally, the whole building would be gutted and some architectural features re-utilised within the new build. The Santa Rita street building is adorned by an arched niche of St Joseph at an angular ped- iment topped by a cross, with a cornice at the bottom, a metal hook and lamp, and an 1886 inscription granting an indul- gence by Mgr Antonio Mario Buhagiar. Located at the edge of the town's UCA, it is sur- rounded by modern and tradi- tional buildings. But the case officer said the redevelopment of this site was sensitive, as it leads pedestrians into one of the older parts of the Birkirkara UCA. "With the right and sensitive alterations and through restoration of the site, it can be developed into an exemplary building showcasing out heritage while also being habitable." Instead the case officer pro- posed its conservation. As proposed the development will disrupt the streetscape with blank party walls, as well as committing the rest of the perimeter for further exten- sions into the UCA. Architect George Pullicino insisted that the site lies at the end of the UCA, and is already surrounded by three-storey high buildings. The case of- ficer disagreed, arguing that another 'transition' would only add more pressure on the ar- ea with nothing but economic gain for the developer": "The opposite buildings located within scheme cannot be tak- en into consideration since if these structures had to be con- sidered, all the properties with- in UCA that front-schemed ar- eas can be committed with the same height." Pullicino argued that that most of the rooms in the exist- ing building are very small, and sub-standard for today's resi- dential sanitary requirements and are either dangerous, or in a very bad condition in terms of structural stability. Moreo- ver, the building used to house five separate household units, and the building is so frag- mented "that it is impossible to turn it into decent households to today's standards". Conservation NGO Din l-Art Helwa has expressed its full agreement with the recom- mendations made by the case officer and is calling on the PA's planning commission to uphold it. Don't demolish 1800s townhouse, case officer tells PA