Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512576
11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 DECEMBER 2023 ly be permitted if truly minimal and would not detract from the architectural form and massing of the scheduled property," the NGO said. Describing the application as completely unacceptable, DLH called on the Planning Author- ity to ensure "the protection of our island's limited and increas- ingly threatened cultural herit- age". In another objection, environ- mentalist Claire Bonello de- scribed the proposed addition of extra floors on the scheduled buildings as an "insensitive and outdated proposal that set a dangerous precedent, threaten- ing the integrity and protection of all scheduled properties. But the case officer's report concluded that the proposed additional floors are acceptable as these do not exceed the ex- isting height of the buildings on both sides, and the additional floors on each townhouse are stepped to follow the street gra- dient. Consent granted by owners The proposal is being made by Priscilla Calleja who declared not fully owning the site but having the consent of the own- ers to present the application. Back in 2017 Calleja had re- quested the addition of two floors to transform her prop- erty into a guesthouse, but her application was recommended for refusal following the objec- tion of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. In 2018, Planning Authority chairperson Johann Buttigieg proposed an outline application to be instead submitted for the whole stretch of scheduled properties, to de- termine the building height and external appearance, and avoid piecemeal development. Buttigieg had noted the out- line application will cover an area well beyond the applicant's property and will act as a mas- terplan for the whole area. Now Calleja has applied to add three new floors on all town- houses, declaring she was not the owner of the entire site but that other owners had been in- formed and granted consent. A final decision will be taken by the Planning Board on 14 December. approved on Paceville's listed townhouses The row of scheduled two storey townhouses fronting Triq il-Wilga and Triq Paceville, dates back from the interwar period and is currently scheduled as a Grade 2 property, a status which normally precludes demolition or significant alterations to the building