Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1342444
13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2021 Metropolis gets 'kiss of life' JAMES DEBONO THE permit for the 33-storey Metropolis in Gzira has been ex- tended to 2023 despite expiring in September 2020, thanks to plan- ning rules allowing the extension of permits throughout the COV- ID-19 pandemic. The blanket three-year exten- sion was granted by the Planning Authority in March 2020 because of the stagnation caused by the pandemic, prolonging the life of almost 20,000 development per- mits. The excavated hole on some 6,000sq.m of Testaferrata Street remains at a depth of three to four storeys, for a prospective 500-space car park. "As it stands, the site is excavat- ed and surrounded by a hoarding related to a construction site and therefore it cannot be deemed to constitute an injury to amenity," a PA spokesperson told MaltaTo- day. Originally, a 2009 permit al- lowed three towers of 13, 27 and 33 floors over a public piazza con- necting Triq Enrico Mizzi and Triq Testaferrata. The develop- ment was to include 191 residen- tial units, a health club, offices, retail outlets, a supermarket, and an underground car park. The five-year permit was re- newed in November 2013, and in November 2014 the PA allowed an increase in parking spaces, as well as increased office space from 4,600sq.m to 7,815sq.m, and to decrease the number of apart- ments to 110. The permit also in- cluded a helipad on one roof, and a communal outdoor swimming pool and deck area on the roof of another tower. During the PA hearing of 2014, board chairman Vince Cassar had specifically enquired on the time frames for commencement of works. Architect Edwin Mintoff replied that the tenders were ready and works were to com- mence "soon". In February 2020 an application to renew the permit was present- ed, but was subsequently with- drawn in April after the PA insist- ed on a full application procedure rather than just a summary pro- cedure. Just days before the 2015 local elections, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat officially laid the foun- dation stone for the high-rise – years after excavation had taken place – but since then the project has lain dormant. ductive health and rights re- mains unchanged, from a legal perspective. "Legislation in this area is up to the Member States. Strong women's rights are an asset and an achieve- ment the whole of Europe must be proud of. We should push forward, not backwards," the spokesperson said. Last year, Dalli landed her- self in hot water when she re- affirmed her "commitment to ensuring women and girls have access to health and medical care, including sexual repro- ductive rights." Dalli later took that statement back by say- ing her comments had been "misinterpreted" and that she would respect member states in their choice of abortion leg- islation. At a European level, Malta's newest Labour MEP, Cyrus Engerer, has been the only pol- itician to break ranks with tra- ditional abdications surround- ing support for reproductive rights. Back in 2020, Engerer supported a resolution con- demning the new restrictive abortion laws in Poland. He was the only Maltese MEP to vote for the resolution. More recently, Nationalist MEPs David Case and Robert Metsola did not vote on a res- olution which assesses the pro- gress made in women's rights over the past 25 years. The reason for this, they told this newspaper, was because they said that as always, they voted against any amendments call- ing for abortion to be mandat- ed in member states. The Maltese public itself re- mains unconvinced. A survey by MaltaToday back in 2019 found that 97.2% disagreed with unrestricted abortion at whatever stage of the pregnan- cy, with only 1.4% favouring complete liberalisation. A majority of 45.5% disagreed with abortion if the mother's life is in danger, and 78.5% al- so disagreeing with abortion in the case of rape. Author and activist Emily Galea (left) commended Helena Dalli's speech on Poland but highlighted that Dalli's "own home country" was omitted despite having more restrictive laws. "One cannot help but notice the complete omission of the Commissioner's home country, Malta, which is the last remaining member of the European Union with a blanket ban on abortion."