Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 NEWS A U T H O R I T Y F O R I N T E G R I T Y I N M A L T E S E S P O R T A MS EXPRESSION OF INTEREST Sport Integrity Education course The Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) is the Authority that regulates Sports in Malta. The Authority is determined to promote a safe, fair, and healthy sporting environment. The Authority's main pillars focus on combating issues like anti- doping, fighting match-fixing, and money laundering while handling regulatory matters for all sports organisations in Malta. To achieve this, AIMS believes that education is crucial as the first line of defense to protect the rights of clean athletes and maintain fairness in sports. AIMS is inviting interested individuals to participate in a Sport Integrity Education course aimed to equip people with the knowledge and skills needed to address the complex challenges in the world of sports today. From this course AIMS intends to select individuals to serve as Integrity Education Officers. The selected individuals will be asked to pursue an employment opportunity on a casual basis within the Authority as an Integrity Education Officer. The officers will be required to work within the areas of the Authority and for a number of hours as required (including weekends) for a period of 24 months. Interested persons must have the necessary skills for the task, including: 1. Have a minimum undergraduate level of education (teachers and persons linked to the teaching profession are strongly invited to apply) 2. Ability to work in a fast paced, high-pressure environment 3. Ability to work in a team and individually 4. Proven experience in developing and maintaining stakeholder relationships 5. An understanding and knowledge of the anti-doping landscape 6. Demonstrate personal drive and integrity 7. Strong organisational skills Interested individuals are to send: 1. A cover letter outlining skills, knowledge on the subject, experience, achievements and reasons why one should be considered for this course. 2. A detailed curriculum vitae 3. Police conduct (issued within 3 months of application date) 4. Copies of transcript/s, qualification/s and certificates Applications with all the required documentation are to be sent to the Head of Education department within AIMS Mr. Andy Grech via this link - https://form.jotform.com/232131702767351 or on andy.grech.1@aims.org.mt by not later than noon of 12th October 2023. The cost of this course is €50 and shall be payable once applicant is accepted. Visual study for Naxxar seven- storey development kept hidden JAMES DEBONO A proposed seven-storey Naxxar development, consisting of five blocks with 278 apartments, is causing concern over its visual impact as the Planning Authority withholds photomontages of the project. The development is planned on a former quarry in the Saghjtar ar- ea, which ceased operations in the 1970s. But despite concerns raised by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, the Planning Author- ity has chosen not to release the 'visual impact assessment,' which includes photomontages depict- ing the proposed development. The project with a floor area of 34,618sq.m will include five res- idential blocks and 501 parking spaces across three underground levels. When questioned by MaltaTo- day about the absence of this crit- ical document in the public infor- mation system, a spokesperson for the Planning Authority explained that it would only be made avail- able once the case officer's report, recommending approval or refus- al of the project, is finalised. In the past, visual impact as- sessments for other projects were typically published much earlier, either as part of an Environmen- tal Impact Assessment (EIA) or as separate documents for projects not requiring a full EIA. While the photomontages and visual assessment are unavailable to the public, 3D 'internal' views of the proposed development have been released. Unfortunate- ly, these images provide limited insight into the potential impact of this substantial development on the town's visual landscape. Although not accessible to the public, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has reviewed the Visual Impact Assessment and expressed concerns about the photomontages, which 'indicate an evident impact on the skyline and townscape of Naxxar' warn- ing that the development as pro- posed will "create a distortion on this clearly defined profile". They also pointed out disparities between the original batch of pho- tomontages and newer ones, par- ticularly from specific viewpoints where the new development was once clearly visible but now ap- pears barely visible. The quarry where the devel- opment is proposed is bounded by three streets - Censu Muscat, Manwel Magri, and Ħawħ. The apartment blocks will rise seven floors above street level, in- cluding two receded upper floors. This 'medium rise' development is based on the Floor Area Ratio mechanism, allowing develop- ments to exceed a town's height limitations if a significant portion of the site is preserved as open public space. In this case, a public square is proposed at the eastern edge of the site. The development will be contained entirely within the footprint of the disused quar- ry. An outline permit issued in 2008 already established parameters for the development, with building heights limited to seven floors. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage was not consulted dur- ing the issuance of this permit. The current application involves an additional 3,844sq.m above ground and a substantial increase in development below ground lev- el, including the construction of three basement levels. The Environment and Resourc- es Authority has exempted the project from the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assess- ment and does not object to the development, especially consider- ing the urban context. In a Project Development State- ment presented last year, the developer's consultants claimed that the project would provide high-quality residential infra- structure to align with "the coun- try's current economic model". If approved, it is expected that the construction phase will take four to five years to complete, with excavation works estimated to generate 26,000 cubic meters of inert material. The 3D 'internal views' of the project, which however do not contextualise the development within the existing landscape. Photomontages showing the impact of the project on surrounding areas have so far been withheld. 278 apartments are being proposed in five seven storey blocks in a spent quarry in Is-Saghjtar area of Naxxar