Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1287818
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2020 9 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Zebbug local council has unanimously objected to pro- posed changes to plans for the new Djar Bjorn hospice, which foresees the removal of 20 un- derground car park spaces. The care home was approved in 2019 and came as a result of the tireless fundraising initia- tives captained by ALS sufferer and activist Bjorn Formosa. The latest planning applica- tion will reduce the number of parking spaces from 20 to just two. But the local council has warned that this will exacer- bate parking problems in the locality, which would increase "pressure" on residents. While supporting the "no- ble aims" of the project, the council insisted that it cannot abscond on its responsibility to voice residents' concerns. 120 residents signed a petition to appeal the PA turn down the application, warning that "when the project is complete, staff and visitors will require parking facilities that are al- ready saturated at street level" in what is now still a "a quiet residential area". The massive six-storey high Dar Bjorn, which is set to in- clude 29 bedrooms, was ap- proved last year and is located within a residential zone with a height limitation of three floors. Back then, the case officer acknowledged that the pro- posed development exceeds the height limitation of the area. But noting the proposed use of the new facility, the PA's directorate decided to apply a policy regulating the heights of old people's homes, which per- mits an additional two floors over and above the number of floors permitted in the Local Plan, provided that "the re- sultant design features a high quality product in keeping with the urban context and no blank walls are created". jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Council rues parking loss from Dar Bjorn hospice JAMES DEBONO A 540-space car park is being proposed beneath the playground of the Maria Regina school com- plex in Hamrun. The Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools presented the applica- tion, intended at providing easier parking facilities for school events but also for the nearby Hamrun football ground and political ral- lies for the adjacent headquarters of the PN and the PL. The three-level underground car park will have a total 21,000sq.m floor space area, topped with a 7,200sq.m landscaped play- ground. A four-storey adminis- tration block will replace the dra- ma centre. The development will generate over 100,000cb.m in excavation waste, with the Environment and Resources Authority calling for more information as to whether the waste can be reused on site. The ERA gave its clearance on condition that electric charging bays and bicycle racks are includ- ed wherever possible. The FTS said the car park will aid children's and pedestrian safe- ty with the removal of street park- ing, and the traffic generated by the neighbouring political party HQs. The demand for housing is also increasing as students search for accommodation close to the Uni- versity of Malta, with Pietà and Hamrun becoming the preferred rental area for foreigners on the peripheries of centres like Sliema and St Julian's. The decrease of car dependence will depend on major infrastruc- tural changes that promote bikes, public transport, and car sharing. But by reducing street parking, the project could pave the way for the streets to become more pedestrian-oriented. A number of trees in the existing school yard will also be uprooted, but replaced by new trees in the new landscaped playground. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Multi-storey car-park beneath Hamrun school The 540-space car park will have three storeys of 7,000sq.m each, and will be topped by a landscaped playground