Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1490058
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 JANUARY 2023 NEWS Letter of Intention The Director Andre, Despott with ID Card number 54087M is to declare his intention to register for an Employment Agency licence in accordance to article 23 of the Employment and Training Services Act, 1990 (Act XXVIII of 1990). The activities proposed to be carried out are the following: 1) Recruitment Consultancy. 2) Interviewing, selection and placements of candidates in employment. 3) Recruitment of persons from abroad to employment in Malta or in an EU member state. 4) Recruitment of persons in Malta for employment in Malta or in an EU member state. 5) Advertising of the filling of vacancies. 6) Keeping a register of applicants for employment. Office Address: 90, Triq Tumas Dingli Street ,Zabbar JAMES DEBONO DEMAND for new planning permits took another dip in 2022 when compared to 2021, despite the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But requests for new permits remains higher than in every year between 2011 and 2016. The number of planning ap- plications had already dropped from a record 11,480 in 2018 to 8,981 in 2020 only to increase again to 9049 in 2021. This means that requests for plan- ning permits in 2022 was the lowest in past four years. Zoning applications meant to set future parameters for future developments have also declined from 120 in 2019 to 87 in 2021 and 79 in 2022. The number of planning and zoning applications only offers an indication of the state of the construction industry. This is because planning permits are submitted for a wide range of works, ranging from new res- idential blocks to agricultural stores and reservoirs. Moreover, not all permits are approved and works do not al- ways commence immediately after approval. In fact, permits remain valid for five years after being issued and owners may bide for time to commence works. But the number of planning applications does offer an in- dication of confidence in the property market and willing- ness of owners and developers to take risks. Stakeholders in the sector confirmed that although the construction sector has re- mained resilient during the pandemic, it is passing through a 'cooling-off' period following a peak in 2018. Factors which could have led to the dip in permit requests were the election which dom- inated the first quarter and in- flationary pressures triggered by the war in Ukriane in the past year. The number of permits be- ing issued also raises issues of sustainability especially when one considers that the PA has received nearly 59,000 permit applications since 2017. The upsurge in applications between 2017 and 2019 re- flected demographic changes and economic growth in that period but also more liberal planning policies since 2013, which allowed five-storey de- velopments inside develop- ment zones and outside urban conservation areas. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO A basement car park for some nine cars has been removed from a prospective Msida hotel project, due to ground stability issues. The 11-storey hotel of 107 rooms will be built on the main Msida thoroughfare opposite the Workers Memorial. The Planning Authority approved changes to the design, including the removal of the underground car park. The removal was permitted on the basis of guidelines exempting developers from parking require- ments "if this is physically and technically unfeasible/impossible, or undesirable" and if a contribu- tion is made to the Planning Au- thority's parking fund. The sum, making up for the shortfall in nine parking spaces, will that of €47,000 payable to the PA's Urban Improvements Fund for Msida, that will later fund traf- fic management, green transport, urban improvements or similar projects. A ground investigation by Solid- base in March 2021 found that the ground under the proposed hotel consisted of loose material or very weak bedrock, and that excava- tions would have caused stability issues to neighbouring properties. The hotel is being developed by J&J Holdings, a company owned by Josef Dimech and Jonathan Pace. The Planning Authority's plan- ning directorate, which assesses projects on the basis of planning policies, had objected to the pro- posal because the development of hotels in this area of Msida was not foreseen in the local plan. Spe- cifically, the case officer who had objected to the development not- ed that this "extensively exceed- ed the allowable heights" of four floors, foreseen in the local plan. But the PA's planning commis- sion, chaired by architect Simon Saliba, concluded that the hotel use was compatible with the site context, while the height on Triq ix-Xatt was equivalent to the sev- en-storey height limitation when converted in metres. The case officer continued to object even after the board indi- cated its intention to approve the project, describing the "non-ad- herence with the maximum build- ing height limitation" as a "major concern". Moreover, according to the case officer, the development was not eligible to make use of the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels as it was considered "ex- cessive in terms of the streetscape, context of the site, scale and build- ing mass when compared to adja- cent developments" and would "negatively impact the surround- ings from the majority of views". The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had also objected to the demolition of the two 19th century townhouses. The ap- proved plans envisage the preser- vation of one of the façades. 8,068 applications for planning permits in 2022 Ground stability findings eliminates Msida hotel undergound parking 11-storey hotel will not have underground parking due to ground stability issues for neighbouring properties