Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475004
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 JULY 2022 NEWS JAMES DEBONO ANOTHER early 20th century townhouse in Fleur de Lys is being threatened with demoli- tion to add three-storey hous- ing, breaking the area's uni- form skyline with a blank party wall on neighbouring town- houses. The townhouse is located between Triq il-Madonna ta' Pompej on one side and Triq Fleur de Lys, 170m from the Ġnien l-Istazzjon and in the vicinity of the Dar tal-Kleru. But the area was not included in Birkirkara's urban conser- vation area in the 2006 local plans. The developer wants to re- tain the townhouse façade but move the roof's balustrades to a penthouse level. The pro- posed development will have eight dwellings and a ground- floor shop. But approval could set a prec- edent for the uniform town- house row. It's the second ap- plication presented in the past month envisaging five-storey development in this historical street – the complete demo- lition of another two-storey townhouse located 12m away from the Carmelite church. Birkirkara council minority leader Antoine Attard warned that the historical centre will be "completely destroyed" if this "five-storey monster" is approved, and called on the PA to schedule the buildings in a letter on behalf of PN council- lors. Attard fears the development will trigger a domino effect for townhouse demolition that "destroys the pattern, settle- ment and character of the town centre". The Birkirkara local council is expected to discuss the ap- plication shortly. Although not recognised as an Urban Conservation Ar- ea, the historical value of the townhouses has been repeated- ly recognised by the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage which had recommended the inclusion of these townhouses in the UCA and a list of pro- tected buildings. Commenting on anoth- er development in 2017, the watchdog declared that it "had already recommended that buildings along Triq Fleur de Lys are scheduled to preserve visual integrity of the historic streetscape." It remains a mys- tery why this step was never taken. The decision not to desig- nate Fleur de Lys as a UCA was questioned again by the Super- intendence when in 2021 it ex- pressed "surprise and concern that the streetscape has not been given the protection due to the area as an Urban Con- servation Area", over a request for a garage and change of ap- ertures on another property in the same street. The recognition of the his- torical importance of these buildings would preclude their demolition in line with the ob- jectives of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Devel- opment (the most important planning policy) which states clearly that there should be "a presumption against demoli- tion of property worthy of con- servation" and says that "devel- opment within historic sites is to be carried in such a manner that the historic site's skyline is not adversely affected". Pedestrianised street to be enclosed by 16-floor hotel JAMES DEBONO A proposed 16-storey hotel in- side a Sliema alleyway could block off the remaining access to sunlight on Bisazza Street, enclosing the street with a new building mass. The hotel in the Zimmermann Barbarbo alley will block the sky view of the popular shop- ping area in the pedestrianised Bisazza Street, photomontag- es presented by the developer confirm. Yet there will be very mini- mal impact on long distance views from Manoel Island and the Strand, in an area already dominated by high buildings. No photomontages have been presented showing the impact of the proposed hotel on the alley itself. The PA's design advisory committee had already ex- pressed concern on the scale of the project, foreseeing "consid- erable impacts on medium-dis- tance views and at close range" due to highly visible, blank par- ty walls. The committee also pointed out that the proposal was "out of scale with its sur- roundings." So far no wind and shadow- ing studies on the impact of the area's micro-climate have been requested by the Planning Au- thority. The hotel, proposed by Dale Spiteri, will comprise 178 rooms on the corner site of Bisazza Street and the 2.4m-wide Zimmermann Bar- baro alley. Apart from tradi- tional guest rooms another ho- tel will consist of self-catering units. The building will become Bisazza Street's highest con- struction, dwaring an adjacent townhouse on Zimmermann Barbaro street. The hotel will have an indoor pool, gymna- sium, underground spa, two restaurants, outside catering area, and a roof-level pool. The hotel will encroach on an undeveloped green area behind the existing buildings, which forms part of a more extensive garden. There is no parking area given that the site's frontage, on Zim- mermann Barbaro Street, is a pedestrianised area. The Bisaz- za Street frontage at ground level is already owned by other third parties. The applicants submitted a traffic study to claim hotel management will make guests aware of lack of parking to promote alternative trans- port modes like bike-sharing schemes, public transport, the ferry, scooters, taxis and mini vans. Delivery vehicles will use Bisazza Street during restrict- ed hours when allowed, with the traffic study claiming vehi- cles should also be able to pass through the narrow Zimmer- man Barbaro alley. The alley is connected by a staircase to Bisazza Street. Five-storey block proposed next to scheduled Ghaxaq gardens JAMES DEBONO A five-storey block is being pro- posed just seven metres off the Villa Mekrech gardens, a Grade 2 listed property. The proposed, 10 dwellings will take the place of a corer plot, thanks to the 2015 rules that allowed five-storey devel- opments in most towns by ap- plying a mathematical formula that translates storeys into met- ric heights. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage wants to limit the development to a maximum of three storeys, using stricter criteria issued in a 2020 circu- lar by the ministry for planning, only "if it is clear that such a proposal does not have an ad- verse impact on views of the ur- ban conservation area" and the scheduled Villa Mekrech. The 2020 circular gives guid- ance on how to assess devel- opment applications within the settings of monuments and scheduled buildings: planners must make detailed assess- ments of the impact on pro- tected buildings and identify mitigation measures with the support and approval of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. The Superintendence is also objecting to a similar appli- cation on a site located 34m away from the scheduled gar- dens, also calling for lowering three-storey heights. Objectors are worried about the substantial shadowing of the garden, which could nega- tively impact the vegetation in the garden. Din l-Art Ħelwa warned that the "jarring apart- ment block will spoil vistas from this historical property, alienating the historical prop- erty from its cultural land- scape, and detracting from its value". Councillors fear Fleur-de-Lys domino effect Pressure mounts to schedule historical buildings in Fleur de Lys as more owners try their luck in absence of any protection for early 20th century townhouses The PA's design advisory committee had already expressed concern on the scale of the project, foreseeing "considerable impacts on medium-distance views and at close range" due to highly visible, blank party walls