Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1469338
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 JUNE 2022 Developers drop plans for controversial supermarket at Burmarrad JAMES DEBONO PLANS by Bonnici Brothers for a supermarket on a 6,870sq.m plot of agricultural land along Burmarrad Road in the inter- section with Triq is-Sardin, have been dropped. The plans had generated con- troversy and a large number of objections by NGOs like Mov- iment Graffitti and also by the Environment and Resources Authority and the St Paul's Bay local council. ERA had described the devel- opment as "unacceptable" as it would have introduced an urban type development for commer- cial uses outside the buildling zones. Furthermore, it also point- ed out that the presence of the parking or storage area on part of the plot should not be used as a pretext for further intensifica- tion and commitments on this site. Apart from these environmen- tal considerations, ERA said there was no justification in tak- ing up agricultural land to have a supermarket in an area which was already served by at least two nearby facilities. Apart from Scotts Supermar- ket, which is 750 metres away, Burmarrad also hosts the Pis- copo Cash and Carry, just five minutes away by car, the envi- ronment watchdog pointed out. Controversy grew further after Infrastructure Malta, then led by Frederick Azzopardi, had pre- sented plans for a new rounda- bout at the intersection between Triq is-Sardin and Triq Burmar- rad. The supermarket plans orig- inally presented in 2018 were reactivated in 2020 following the announcement of the round- about plan. Moviment Graffitti had accused IM of presenting its plans to favour the supermarket development. But IM insisted that the round- about at the corner with Is-Sar- din Road, located next to the pro- posed supermarket, was needed as a traffic-calming measure as road users approach the residen- tial area of Burmarrad. IM said the roundabout will reduce accident risks along this 2.5-kilometre road and its junc- tions "with nearby arterial, resi- dential and rural roads", noting that these crossroads are "acci- dent black spots with a history of collisions and serious conse- quences to road users, especially due to the lack of measures dis- couraging overtaking and speed- ing." The roundabout plans which would impact on old reservoir are still awaiting a final decision by the PA. The supermarket was being proposed next to a petrol sta- tion, approved by the Planning Authority in 2018, but which is yet awaiting the appeals verdict of the Environment and Plan- ning Tribunal. The EPRT had originally dismissed the appeal claiming that Moviment Graffit- ti had no right to appeal because it had not registered its objection to the development with the PA. But the courts overturned this decision. New owner applies to retain Villa Degorgio as single townhouse New plans foresee a single dwelling instead of six approved in the past years with additional development limited to overlying receded level JAMES DEBONO IN a rare case which defies the prevailing trend for developers to fit in more apartments within the shell of old townhouses, the new owner of Villa Degorgio in Sliema has applied to downsize the approved development of six apartments to a single dwelling. The post-war, detached two-storey house lies in a very prominent intersection between High Street and Dingli Street, in the area known to residents as it-Tliet Siġriet – for the three trees in the roadside intersection. This is considered to be the hub of Sliema's old village core and still has a stretch of two-floor townhouses. As proposed the development will still include an additional penthouse level above the exist- ing townhouse but excludes any lateral extension on the two sides of the building. The application also foresees a swimming pool in the building's back yard. The latest application presented by new owner Jie He represents a twist in the recent planning his- tory of the site, characterised by attempts by previous owner Phil- ip Degiorgio to turn the villa into an apartment block. In 2011 the Planning Authority (PA) had refused an outline appli- cation for the demolition of Villa Degiorgio and the construction of a number of residential apart- ments with underlying garages. The PA board had conclud- ed that the development would compromise the visual integrity of the existing streetscape, which is until today predominantly that of two floors. The board also ex- pressed concern that the applica- tion would have eliminated one of Sliema's "green lungs", on ac- count of its large garden. But the decision was partly over turned by the PA's Environment and Planning Review Tribunal which allowed the internal dem- olition of the building to make way for eight apartments while the new development was limited to the building depth of the exist- ing building. The decision to issue the out- line permit was subsequently fol- lowed by the issue of a full devel- opment permit in 2016. In 2018 the Planning Authority refused another application pro- posing the complete demolition of the building and its substi- tution with a new building four floors higher than the existing villa, consisting of two basement levels, three full floors and three receded floors. In a sign of strong opposition to the application the Planning Authority had received a staggering 2,372 objections by residents including the Sliema council. In 2021 the PA approved new plans by Degorgio to reduce the number of approved apartments from eight units to six on the same area as previously approved permits. Top: Villa Degorgio as originally approved, Bottom: Villa Degorgio as approved now