Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532882
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 MARCH 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Seven-storey old people's home approved in Mosta THE Planning Authority (PA) has approved the construction of a seven-storey old people's home in Mosta despite concerns raised by the heritage watchdog. The home will be built at the corner of Triq il-Kostituzzjoni and Triq Nikol Muscat, on the site of the Pitstop carwash, adja- cent to the Miracle Foods retail outlet. The site is just a few metres from the Casa Arkati old people's home. The new residential home, pro- posed by Fran Schembri, is set to include 84 guestrooms and 178 beds. The development will retain part of the façade of an existing old building and will include three basement parking levels, with the old people's home above con- sisting of six floors and a receded level, reaching a total height of 25 metres from pavement level. Planning policies limit devel- opment in the area, however, in this case, the Planning Authority has applied the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Retirement Homes, which permits two extra floors above this height limitation. The uppermost floor will be set back to minimise the visual im- pact. The residential home was ap- proved in an area designated by the Local Plan as a residential area, where only small-scale residen- tial institutions can be approved. However, an urban design study submitted by the developer's ar- chitect states that, due to the nat- ural topography of the street, the new building "won't have a signifi- cant impact on the current skyline of Mosta, as it will blend in with the heights of buildings on high- er ground when viewed from the Rotunda area. Moreover, the new building will face a relatively wide street." While recognising that the de- velopment cannot be considered small-scale, the Planning Au- thority applied another policy allowing a departure from the lo- cal plan, provided the surround- ing area is already designated for similar uses. In this case, the im- mediate vicinity includes offices and retail establishments, while Casa Arkati is located further down the road. However, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had expressed reservations about the proposed design of the building, calling for a more coherent design and the use of a single building material, preferably local limestone. The heritage watchdog also insisted that the two uppermost floors should be receded. However, the case officer disagreed with these recommendations, noting that the area is dominated by modern buildings, including showrooms, apartment blocks, and other com- mercial establishments, with no sensitive historic buildings in the immediate vicinity. A tri-partite legal agreement has been signed by the Planning Au- thority, the Ministry for the Fam- ily and Social Solidarity, and the applicant to ensure that the prem- ises are kept in use as a retirement home and that any change of use (even partial) may be considered only if the additional floors are first removed, as required by pol- icy. Photomontage showing how new building will look from the surrounding area