Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471309
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 JUNE 2022 Resto visuals show more clutter on Ta' Xbiex promenade JAMES DEBONO A restaurant proposed by Transport Malta at the Ta' Xbiex yacht marina will partly obscure iconic villas and increase clutter in the area despite the building's low height. Transport Malta submitted photomon- tages showing how the proposed restau- rant and offices for the Ta' Xbiex yacht marina will impact on surrounding views along the promenade. The authority is applying on behalf of a consortium, which was granted a conces- sion for the marina. Visuals show that the new restaurant will partly obstruct views of the iconic Ta' Xbiex villas when seen from the prome- nade, block views of Manoel Island from the garden itself while introducing a new building facing pedestrians strolling in the area. However, the new building will not completely dominate surroundings due to its limited height. Transport Malta had scrapped a contro- versial plan for building the structures in- side the Council of Europe Gardens, but subsequently presented a fresh applica- tion for the restaurant on the reorganised promenade between the garden and the sea. The one-storey building will include a 163sq.m restaurant, a 162sq.m office, and 180sq.m for outside catering. In March, the Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage welcomed the fact that the proposed development is no longer locat- ed inside the public garden and will not impact directly on the garden. Nevertheless, the Superintendence still expressed its concern that the marina of- fice and its facilities together, including a fuelling area for boats, creates "a very extensive development that is out of scale with the context." Moreover, the foreshore location be- tween the garden and the sea will inev- itably impact on views on the garden towards the sea and Manoel Island. The Superintendence said it would be favour- able to the mitigation of such inevitable impacts with amended drawings address- ing these issues. The plans also refer to a separate ap- plication, which will involve a "redesign" of the garden that will reorganise street parking to create a promenade for pedes- trians. A 25-year concession was awarded by public tender to the Gzira Gardens Ma- rina Consortium in 2018, a project which had attracted 14 bids. But the application for an "operator area", which includes the proposed restaurant, has been presented by Transport Malta and not by the con- cessionaires. Existing Proposed