Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508764
13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2023 Are you a travel agent? The Malta Medicines Authority is looking to identify the services of competent traveling agencies that could facilitate the provision of travel arrangements. Visit www.medicinesauthority.gov.mt/careers for more information. Applications are to be submitted to travel.medicinesauthority@gov.mt . Hotel on stilts proposed on Townsquare project's garden Consultant's report claims the garden 'will still f low' under the hotel rooms as objectors slam fragmented open space JAMES DEBONO A proposed hotel within the high-rise Town Square devel- opment in Sliema will occupy a space previously designated as a pavilion in the garden, plans for the new project show. The hotel, planned to reach eleven stories, will be con- structed on stilts to allow the garden to "continue under- neath the hotel". The developer's environmen- tal consultants, ADI, specify in a memo detailing project changes that the hotel will have a 148sq.m reception area on the first two levels. This design allows the garden to continue underneath the ho- tel, while the hotel rooms will begin from the second level and extend up to the ninth floor, ul- timately reaching the eleventh floor, covering a larger area of more than 400 sq.m. According to the memo the addition of a new hotel in- stead of the pavilion could af- fect some of the short distance views but the change is not considered to be significant. Other changes outlined in the document include a direct connection between Qui-Si- Sana Lane and Villa Drago and the removal of the car park en- trance on Hughes Hallet Street. All traffic will now access the site via Triq Qui-Si-Sana. Furthermore, the topmost recessed level of the high-rise tower has been converted into a full floor, and the level above it is now a recessed floor level. Consequently, the tower's height will increase from 27 to 29 stories, and the number of approved apartments will rise from 159 to 234, with the ad- dition of a new 90-room hotel. According to the Environ- ment and Resources Authority the proposed changes, will see the gross floor area (GFA) in- crease by 11,912sq.m. The ap- proved plans so far catered for a GFA of 90,432sq.m. Car trips to increase by 662 The changes will also result in an increase of 662 in the esti- mated average number of vehi- cle trips generated by the pro- ject from 2,526 to 3,188 cars. An air quality study suggests that this change will have mini- mal to moderate effects on dust emissions, but emissions of particulate matter are expect- ed to exceed legal limits, even without the project changes. However, the study propos- es mitigating these impacts through the implementation of a green travel plan. The project will also include a green parking area for alterna- tive modes of transport like cy- cling, scooters, and taxis, with parking facilities increasing by over 40%, from 600 to 850 spaces. Objectors lament fragmented open space In an objection to the project, lawyer Claire Bonello and ar- chitect Tara Cassar expressed concerns that the 11-story ho- tel block will further fragment the surrounding public open space. They noted that the proposed hotel's footprint closely resem- bles that of a tower block that accompanied the larger tow- er in a permit issued in 2015, which was later revoked by the Environment and Planning Tribunal. The addition of this open space was meant to address shortcomings in the quality of open space provided in the re- voked permit. They also argued that approv- al of the new plans would vio- late the Floor Area Ratio policy, which balances high-rise devel- opment with surrounding open spaces, especially given the in- crease in floor area resulting from the new hotel and the tower's revised layout. The Townsquare saga The Townsquare project in Sliema, a 28-story develop- ment, was initially approved by the Planning Authority board in 2019, following years of con- troversy over its height. The project was a collabora- tion between the Ganado, Ga- san, Soler, and Trapani-Galea families. After obtaining a per- mit for the tower development in 2019, the former owners ap- plied to add three floors to an approved seven-story building and change its function to a 113-room hotel, overlooking a new square near Villa Drago. The project was eventually sold to developer Michael Sti- vala for a reported €70 million. According to the plans submit- ted by Stivala, the hotel's loca- tion has shifted further away from Villa Drago in the direc- tion of Hughes Hallet Street. Plans as approved in 2019 (as amended in 2021) compared to latest plans showing hotel being proposed on previously approved open space