Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1268420
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JULY 2020 9 NEWS The Ministry for Education and Employment is pleased to announce that Scholarship Calls for 2020 are out. Further your studies and benefit from one of the following Scholarships Schemes. Applications will be open as from Monday 13 July 2020. Kindly note that closing dates for each scheme differ. An Information Meeting for each scheme will be organised via Zoom for those in need of further clarifications or assistance. Visit our website myscholarship.gov.mt for further information and updates. Endeavour Scholarships Scheme // Malta Arts Scholarships Scheme Malta Sports Scholarships Scheme // Tertiary Education Scholarships Scheme Veterinary Studies Scholarships Scheme Operational Programme II European Structural and Investment Funds 2014 - 2020 "Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the wellbeing of society" Endeavour Project is part-financed by the European Social Fund Co-financing rate: 80% EU Funds; 20% National Funds SCHOLARSHIPS CALLS 2020 Qormi high-rise ditched, Portelli presents plans for five-storey block JAMES DEBONO THE Mercury House develop- er Joseph Portelli has officially abandoned plans for an im- posing 14-storey tower set on Qormi's gateway, and has now submitted plans for a five-storey office block. The 23m-high development will rise 17.5m above Qormi road. In May, the Planning Author- ity had approved the excava- tion of the site in the absence of clear plans for the second stage of the devel- opment, with the developers only announcing they were withdrawing their high-rise plans during a public PA meeting. The project will occupy a 2,000sq.m footprint in the 3,800sq.m site, for- merly agricultural land. Originally, the high-rise would have taken just over 1,000sq.m, leaving a larger ar- ea to be landscaped, but with a more marked visual impact on the locality. The new plans are for a mixed-use commercial block with three-storey car park and showroom below street level, and an office block on five sto- reys above Valletta Road. A ver- nacular building in Triq l-Erba' Qaddisin and existing reservoir will be retained and restored, and a water-shoot dismantled and relocated on the same site. The roof will include a 721sq.m recreational area. The new plans have solicited a positive response from the Environment and Resourc- es Authority, welcoming the downscaling. "Such a reduc- tion in height of the develop- ment is considered to be pos- itive and more in line with the surrounding area." The PA's design advisory committee, which assesses the visual impact of large project, is "averse" to the proposal both in terms of its scale and height. mooring boats. The proposed use of a jack- up barge during works for the new pier will further extend the footprint of the damage on the seabed. The 655sq.m deck area will shadow the marine life un- derneath. The Planning Authority's cul- tural heritage advisory com- mittee had already warned that the extended pier "will completely destroy the natural foreshore of the picturesque Blue Lagon" when similar plans were presented two years ago. The 12-member panel, com- posed of various luminaries in the legal, architectural and the artistic spheres and chaired by Joe Magro Conti, also ad- vises the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage on plan- ning applications. On its part, the Superintendence told the project's architects to remove the extended pier from their plans after noting that this will "inevitably impact negatively on views of the area" which it described as an "iconic land- scape". jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt proposal but MaltaToday is informed that the authority would strongly object to any such proposal once this is submitted through the plan- ning process. The decking proposal is part of a set of proposals made by DB Group on how to spend the obligatory €1.5 million planning gain imposed by the PA if the project is approved. This also includes a private parking facility for residents with a capacity for 99 vehi- cles, to be administered by the council, as well as a fam- ily park with CCTV cameras. The imposition of the plan- ning gain is not conditional on acceptance of these pro- posals, and the funds can still be directly allocated to the council in the absence of any involvement of the DB Group. The developers have used these proposals to curry fa- vour with the council, prom- ising to help in the implemen- tation and maintenance of these projects, but the council led by mayor Dean Hili has re- iterated its firm opposition to the project and is committed to vote against it in a forth- coming PA board meeting. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The proposed areas at Ta' Xbiex (left) and Xghajra, the latter having been spared a decking area that would have covered the natural coastline, for no reason at all... The Mercury House developer Joseph Portelli has officially abandoned plans for an imposing 14-storey tower set on Qormi's gateway, and has now submitted plans for a five-storey office block