Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529635
3 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 22 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS GozoToday is a weekly newspaper focused primarily on Gozo. It hopes to serve as a source of information on business, culture, entertainment and of course current affairs. Gozo has a special charm about it but it is also a bustling Island with an identity of its own. GozoToday is published every Friday and is available to numerous outlets in Gozo and on the ferries that carry so many visitors to Gozo from Malta and beyond. GozoToday MediaToday Co. Ltd Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 9016 EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt 19 18 17 16 15 13 8 7 6 10:00 - 18:00 SUNDAY 1 CHRISTMAS MARKET OPENING TIME DECEMBER 14 22 21 20 16:00 - 20:00 FRIDAY 10:00 - 20:00 SATURDAY 10:00 - 18:00 SUNDAY 10:00 - 20:00 FRIDAY 10:00 - 20:00 SATURDAY 10:00 - 18:00 SUNDAY 16:00 - 20:00 MONDAY 16:00 - 20:00 TUESDAY 16:00 - 20:00 WEDNESDAY 16:00 - 20:00 THURSDAY 16:00 - 20:00 FRIDAY 10:00 - 20:00 SATURDAY 10:00 - 18:00 SUNDAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 It also recommended changes to the Gozo and Comino Lo- cal Plan to protect the terraced houses that form part of the gov- ernment housing estates con- structed under the Home Own- ership Schemes of the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The GRDA said it believes Gozo's urban environment needs to move away from low-quality buildings that impose a negative externality both in terms of ar- chitectural values as well as so- cial and environmental. "Thus, key to improve the living experience and preserve Gozo's urban character is to achieve an architecture that is based on higher quality design that ful- ly respects the streetscapes and skylines. Such high quality de- sign is very often a site-specific solution that must be worked within the specificities of the context." Therefore, policies need to adopt a more context-sensitive design, to achieve high quality design and ensure that Gozo's urban and architectural distinc- tiveness is maintained, it said. A Design Advisory Commit- tee specifically to cover all of Gozo would promote a unified approach to the design of the is- land's urban fabric, emphasising the significance of aesthetics and harmony not only in village cores and Urban Conservation Areas but also in the peripheral areas, typically characterized by more recent developments. Government Housing Estates The GRDA noted that govern- ment housing estates are char- acterised by a design that ex- hibit coherence, overwhelming characterised by rows of ter- raced houses, with their height in good proportion when com- pared to street width. These ratios and proportions give rise to streetscapes and skylines that fully respect the concept of an 'Island of Villag- es'. The Authority is proposing that these areas of terraced houses that form part of the Home Ownership Schemes of the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, be designated as dis- tinct areas within the Gozo and Comino Local Plan, simi- lar to the designation of UCAs. "The Home Ownership Schemes terraced houses, with their distinctive character- istics, should be considered different than other buildings, even if these are within the same building scheme." Gozo's urban environment needs to move away from low-quality buildings, GRDA says The GRDA wants architecture that is based on higher quality design that fully respects the streetscapes and skylines