Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1342444
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2021 NEWS Sacred Heart hotel set for refusal JAMES DEBONO AN eight-storey hotel proposed over an existing townhouse on Sacred Heart Avenue, St Julian's, is being recommended for refus- al by the Planning Authority's directorate. A final decision will taken on 17 March. The development, which would be visible from the grounds of the Zammit Clapp hospital, was deemed 'excessive' by the PA case officer even if its height conforms to a controversial policy that al- lows two storeys over local plan height limits for hotels. But these same rules demand that developments be kept "with- in the urban context", a clause that led the case officer to rec- ommend refusal for the modern design of the hotel. "In terms of height, scale and volume, the pro- posal appears to be massive given its site location is a detached block within such narrow streets". The hotel is a Core Properties development, proposed along Triq is-Sorijiet and Triq il-Kun- vent tas-Sorijiet, in the vicinity of the back garden of The Cloisters, the stately home now being ex- cavated for a seven-storey apart- ment block and boutique hotel. Plans envisage the partial resto- ration of the existing 'Sayonara' townhouse, its façade, the demo- lition of parts of the building, and the construction of five full floors and recessed top floor. Being sit- uated on a hill, the hotel includes four basement levels for services, a spa and breakfast area. Developers had strategically applied first for a residential de- velopment, then re-applied for an increase in the number of sto- reys by proposing a hotel. Indeed, the PA issued a permit to Core Properties to partly demolish the two-storey dwelling and replace it with a six-floor apartment block. The latest application effectively adds two more storeys on what was approved in 2017, for the ho- tel. Local plans for the area limits heights to four floors or 20.8m, which effectively can be turned into five storeys with a penthouse. Hotels can get an extra two sto- reys. The neighbourhood consists of various dwellings constructed in different periods, with the earliest one being a townhouse facing Sa- cred Heart Avenue, dating to the 19th century. LAURA CALLEJA EUROPEAN Equality Com- missioner Helena Dalli has de- fended her decision to exclude Malta from a speech on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Poland. Dalli gave her speech in the European Parliament on 9 February, in a debate on the proposed changes in Poland that will ban up to 98% of abortions. Malta is the only other EU country to have an outright ban on abortion. Speaking to MaltaToday, a spokesperson for the commis- sioner said the speech deliv- ered in the European Parlia- ment was explicitly focused on Poland's situation. "The debate, as well as its focus, was decided by the European Par- liament," they said. But Dalli's reluctance to speak out on the issue of abor- tion in Malta has been criti- cised by Women Health and More (Wham), a website fo- cusing on the lives of women living on the Maltese islands. Author and activist Emi- ly Galea commended Dalli's speech on Poland in response to the country's recent en- forcement of a proposed Bill that bars women with non-vi- able pregnancies from seeking terminations. However, Galea highlighted that Dalli's "own home country" Malta was omitted despite having more restrictive laws. "While this speech is indeed both commendable and truth- ful, one cannot help but notice the complete omission of the Commissioner's home coun- try, Malta, which is the last remaining member of the Eu- ropean Union with a blanket ban on abortion," Galea wrote. Recently, Poland put into a proposed bill that bans up to 98% of abortions – with the country having some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Dalli's speech focussed on the importance of sexual health and the right to receive high quality, reproductive health care. However, Malta currently has the most restrictive abor- tion laws in Europe. Unlike in Poland, Maltese women can- not even seek a safe abortion in rape or incest cases. "Unlike Poland, in Malta, even when the pregnant per- son's life is at risk, one cannot obtain an abortion, legally. In fact, there is no circum- stance under which a person can legally seek an abortion in Malta," Galea pointed out. She added that women in Malta continue to order med- ical abortion pills online and struggle to seek surgical abor- tions overseas. Over 200 women reached out to British charity Abor- tion Support Network since it expanded its services to Malta in 2019. "We helped 75 peo- ple in 2019 and 126 people in 2020. The increase was likely due to an increased aware- ness of ASN and the help we provide and the added pres- sure Covid-19 placed on peo- ple in Malta with unintended or non-viable pregnancies," founder Mara Clarke said. Malta's first Family Plan- ning Advisory Service (FPAS), launched in August 2020, also saw 203 contact them in their first six months to seek out ad- vice on reproductive options. Still, at a European level there is continued radio si- lence with Dalli's spokesper- son saying the Commission's position on sexual and repro- Not just Poland: Dalli called to reflect on Malta abortion ban Helena Dalli defends decision not to mention Malta in debate on Poland's new restrictive abortion law