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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MAY 2021 10 NEWS JAMES DEBONO A social impact assessment for a proposed 16-storey tower set to visually dominate the Marsa junction near the abandoned match factory, has revealed that 85% of Marsa residents did not even know about the pro- ject. The so-called Marsa Park Ar- ea has already been designated as a location where high-rise buildings are permitted for the "gradual regeneration of the ar- ea". So far the only plans pre- sented are the 16-storey tower by property developer Neville Agius, a renowned antiquarian and philantropist. Yet when informed about the project, a majority of Marsa residents, 57%, "approved" or "somewhat approved" the pro- ject even if only 14% "liked" the high-rise aspect of the project while 38% said they "disliked" it. Agius's tower was proposed in 2017 as a high-rise block to house a showroom and cafe- teria on the ground floor, with overlying office development, and a three-level underground car park for 136 spaces. The project's visual impact study shows the high-rise will generate "adverse visual and landscape impacts" given the low-lying surroundings. The extent of impact is sub- ject to vary depending on the view point location. Yet it still claims the landscaped public space should provide "an im- proved aesthetic appeal to the area". AIS consultants said in their project decription sytatement that "aesthetically appeal- ing views of the Marsa Sports Complex and the Grand Har- bour Area", will be an "impor- tant selling point" for office tenants. The public open space with landscaping is also said to con- tribute towards the regenera- tion of Marsa and Albert Town areas. Study findings The social impact study, by Misco, was carried out in col- laboration with sociologist Ma- ria Brown and includes a quan- titative questionnaire, based on a random sample of 151 residents living in the vicinity of the project. The interviews were held in winter 2019. Having a tall building of 16 floors was the component that attracted the highest rates of dislike (38.4% - 58 partici- pants), although a higher 47.7% (72 respondents) stated this did not make a difference to them. However, 44.4% (67) said there would be no positive im- pact and 12.6% (19) said they did not know. The vast majority (84.8%) were not even aware of the proposed development. When informed about the project proposal, 23.8% (36) said they totally approved, 32.5% (49) said they somewhat approved, 23.2% (35) said it did not make a difference to them, 7.9% (12) said they somewhat disap- proved and 12.6% (19) said they totally disapproved. The embellishment of the locality was the most popular main reason justifying approv- al (21.9% - 33 respondents) as well as the most frequently mentioned 'most positive im- pact' (22.5% - 34 respondents). The best-liked component was the cafeteria (53.0% - 80 re- spondents), followed by under- ground parking (50.3% - 76 re- spondents), CCTV (23.8% - 36 respondents) and planting of trees (20.5% - 31 respondents). The study called for collab- oration with the local council and other community stake- holders, including schools, NGOs and the business com- munity based on corporate social responsibility initiatives rather than tokenism. It also said this collaboration should stimulate and support eco- nomic and social vitality in a sustainable manner, and pre- vent social isolation – particu- larly of the elderly – but also the younger generations who might be tempted to move out of Marsa. It listed possible CSR initia- tives as investment in a health centre in the tall building itself, possibly in partnership with the NGO centre in the locality, and investment in an old peo- ple's home, possibly adopting the "integration model" where a community home hosts el- derly and persons from ethnic minorities to stimulate "inter- generational interaction and integration". Marsa high-rise area In 2018 Corinthia Palace Ho- tel Ltd had presented an ap- plication to replace the Mar- sa matchbox factory with a five-storey multipurpose cen- tre, which includes both offices and shops. But the application was later withdrawn. Another application present- ed in its place is still under wraps with plans still unavail- able to the public. An applica- tion for a 37-storey high rise by Angelo Xuereb on a neighbour- ing site was later withdrawn. A traffic impact assessment for the Agius tower did not find any noticeable adverse ef- fects on the surrounding road network (Triq is-Salib tal-Mar- sa, Triq it-Tiġrija, Triq Belt il-Ħazna and the slip roads from the Ħamrun Bypass) with the junctions having ample spare capacity. 85% of Marsa residents unaware of 16-storey high-rise A majority of Marsa residents, 57%, "approved" or "somewhat approved" the project even if only 14% "liked" the high-rise aspect of the project while 38% said they "disliked" it Agius's tower was proposed in 2017 as a high-rise block to house a showroom and cafeteria on the ground floor, with overlying office development, and a three-level underground car park for 136 spaces