Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1528842
12 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt WITHDRAWAL OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER European Social Fund+ 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds is hereby notifying that in view of the policy developments on a national level in the area of migration, the call for project proposals for Priority 2 – Fostering Active Inclusion for All, Specific Objective: 4.9 – Integration of third country nationals as issued on 1 st September 2024 is being withdrawn by virtue of this notice. The call will be re-issued at a later stage. Domino effect forces watchdog's hand in clearing 11-storey Spinola hotel Beach lido in Bugibba seeks planning permit THE Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage has withdrawn its objection to a proposed 11-storey hotel on the site of the former HS- BC branch in St Julian's. The heritage watchdog with- drew its objection on the basis that an adjacent hotel with a simi- lar height approved two years ago has altered the area's context. Previously, the SCH had urged Berkeley Investments to reduce the proposed building's overall height, expressing concerns about the impact of the new structure on the surrounding urban conserva- tion area. However, after reviewing an ur- ban design study submitted by the developer, the cultural heritage watchdog felt "constrained" to re- consider its earlier recommenda- tion, and opted to positively eval- uate the current proposal "in view of the heavy commitments in the vicinity, including on the adjacent site." The urban design study, which included photomontages of how the development will look from Spinola Bay, references a permit for a hotel on an adjacent site over- looking the same bay, approved in 2022. At the time, the SCH had raised concerns that the proposed 11-storey hotel would "overbear onto the St Julian's Urban Con- servation Area" but ultimately did not object, acknowledging the surrounding context. But in response to the new appli- cation submitted in January 2023 for another hotel on the adjacent former HSBC site, the SCH ini- tially recommended reducing the building's height, citing "an un- acceptable impact" on the nearby scheduled Palazzo Spinola which is right opposite the former bank, well as inside the Urban Conser- vation Area. The SCH had also originally called for the integration of the modernist bank façade into the new development. However, after architect Richard England, who designed the original building, stated that he had no objections to its demolition, the SCH dropped its stance on retaining the façade. A final decision by the Planning Authority is still due but the clear- ance from the SCH clears the final hurdle for the demolition of the HSBC building and its replace- ment by the new 67-room hotel. A beach lido complete with restaurant, pool, and adjacent sunbed area is being proposed on an 828sq.m cemented area overlooking the rocky foreshore. The development is being pro- posed by Stephen Bonnici's Islet Fantasy Funpark, which, in its application, declared it does not own the site but has obtained the owner's consent. The applicant also stated that the land in question is not gov- ernment-owned. Aerial photos taken by the Planning Authority indicate that the area was still part of the rocky foreshore before 2004 with the concrete platform being erected some time before 2008. In 2004, a previous applicant, Gaetano Tanti, was issued with a permit to develop a children's park in the area, which was al- lowed to operate only between May and September. The approved structures for the park included a bar and a First Aid room, and a subsequent permit was granted to relocate the bar to an existing public con- venience site. The area, formerly used as a mini-golf facility, is designated in the local plan as a "safeguarded area," a classification that applies to most of the Buġibba shoreline. This designation typically pro- hibits permanent structures, de- spite the area being within the development zone. Photomontage of development from across Spinola Bay showing both hotels approved in 2022 (white façade) and the proposed hotel instead of HSBC branch (brown façade) An architect's drawing of the proposed project The concrete platform below the Bugibba promenade where Islet Fantasy Funpark wants to develop a beach lido