Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1484591
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 NOVEMBER 2022 NEWS High-rise photomontage reveals policy breach in Metropolis approval JAMES DEBONO A photomontage for the pro- posed ST Tower of 17 storeys in Ta' Xbiex has opened a can of worms over the way a plan- ning policy can exclude high- rise projects that obstruct the iconic view from the Universi- ty of Malta to Valletta – some- thing that has been ignored un- der successive administrations. The president of the Malta Developers Association, Mi- chael Stivala, wants to add two storeys to his currently-un- der-construction 15-storey ST Tower in Ta' Xbiex. At 17 floors, the tower should be 'hidden' behind the yet-to- built Metropolis Tower, a mas- sive 33-storey tower by Libyan developers Husni Bey, when viewed from the University of Malta. But in the absence of the Metropolis – now a dec- ade left undeveloped – the ST Tower will stick out like a sore thumb when seen from this protected view. The photomontage from Sti- vala's architects suggests that the Metropolis high-rise, first approved under a Nationalist administration in 2009 and re- newed under Labour in 2014, is in breach of local plan policies NHSE 07 and NHSE 08. NHSE 08 clearly states the PA should "refuse development permission for any proposed development that is likely to have a detrimental effect on strategic view." NHSE 07 lists four so-called "Strategic View Corridors" which are clearly identified in Map SE2 which includes the "skylines that should not be significantly disrupted by new development, especially high buildings". One of the strategic views identified was the visual cor- ridor linking the University of Malta site to Tignè Point, Mar- samxett Harbour and Valletta. The policy states that where "deemed necessary by the PA applicants shall be required to provide photo-montages in order to prove that the new development will not signif- icantly disrupt the identified building planes and skylines". Yet despite these very specif- ic policies, the Metropolis de- velopment was still approved despite its clear and definitive impact on this protected view. So far, apart from the excava- tion of a massive hole of circa 6,000sq.m, works on this de- velopment have not even com- menced even if the permit is set to expire in September 2023. Yet the prior approval of the Metropolis development has set a precedent for other de- velopments in the area. In fact, the case officer report for the Stivala tower approved in 2020 suggests that the visual impact of the new development will "complement" that of its larger neighbour. The case officer report as- sessing whether Stivala's tower is in line with existing policies made no reference to the local plan policy protecting the view from the University to Valletta. But a visual impact assess- ment submitted by Stivala in 2018 had already included a photomontage from the Uni- versity quadrangle. The report concluded that the new tower would in isolation "screen" and "fragment" the view of the bas- tions, with the impact being described as having an impact of "major significance." Now another photomontage showed the Metropolis screen- ing the new development in its entirety, thus showing that Stivala's tower would have no impact on this view. Following a second applica- tion to add two new floors to the approved tower filed in June, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, in a memo issued in October, drew atten- tion to Map SE2 of the North Harbour Local Plan which in- dicates the strategic view cor- ridors that the local plan seeks to preserve. The memo states that since one of the views identified in the local plan was that from the University of Malta to Val- letta and "since the site of the proposed development lies di- rectly in this corridor", updat- ed photomontages of the high- rise as seen from this view were to be submitted. Updated photomontages were submitted on 10 November, showing both the visual impact of the ST Tower with the ad- ditional two storeys and also the "cumulative" impact of the ST Tower and the yet-to-be- constructed Metropolis. This clearly shows that although in isolation of each other, both projects would have a substan- tial impact on this sensitive view; and when completed the Metropolis Towers will com- pletely screen the ST Tower when seen from the University. And this raises two questions: how did the PA approve the Metropolis development in the first place if it was so flagrant- ly in breach of policy and what will happen if this develop- ment whose permit expires in September 2023 is never car- ried out? jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Photomontages from the Stivala high-rise architect show the phantom Metropolis tower blocking the protected view of Valletta from the University of Malta, suggesting policy breaches in planning approval