Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533191
8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 MARCH 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Works on Pieta block suspended after SCH appeal THE Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) has sus- pended works on a controversial Pieta permit issued by the Plan- ning Authority in January. The request for suspension was made by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. The SCH is presently appealing the Planning Authority's approv- al of an eight-storey block with seven flats overlooking Triq ix- Xatt in Pietà. The permit issued to Ciantar Properties had been flagged by MaltaToday in Febru- ary. During the processing of the application the SCH had deemed the development "unacceptable" due to its "clear negative impact on the value of several scheduled properties in the immediate vi- cinity," particularly Villa Ciantar, Villa Frère, and their Grade 1 list- ed gardens. In its decision on Tuesday the EPRT upheld the request for the suspension of works in view "of the sensitive context which includes a number of scheduled gardens and buildings." The case is particularly signifi- cant because the permit is being appealed by two state agencies namely the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and Herit- age Malta, apart from the NGO Friends of Villa Frere. It repre- sents a rare case, envisaged in planning laws where state agen- cies can appeal against decisions taken by the Planning Authority. This is not the first time that the SCH has appealed a permit. An- other appeal against the demoli- tion of Diamond House in Balzan led to a revision of plans retaining the façade of the townhouse on Old Railway Avenue. Although the SCH had request- ed the works to be suspended until a final decision is taken, the tribunal's decision is only suspending the works for three months. Presently the EPRT can only suspend works in rare cases when the impact is deemed to have an irreversible impact prejudicing the historic value and preserva- tion of protected buildings. In its appeal, the SCH described the permit issued by the Planning Authority as "totally unaccept- able in view of the evident nega- tive impact on the values of the numerous scheduled properties in the area." Moreover according to the SCH the development will "severely obstruct the historical vistas of Valletta and the Msi- da Bastion Cemetery from Villa Frere's upper Belveder. The SCH also contends that the develop- ment will have a detrimental im- pact on the modernist Pieta pri- mary school and the context of St Lukes' Hospital. The site where the 8-storey block proposed by Ciantar Prop- erties was approved was previ- ously occupied by a dilapidated two-storey building, which was demolished following a permit issued to Ciantar Properties Lim- ited in 2017. At that time, only a single dwelling was permitted, and the development includ- ed plans to reconstruct the old building, including its traditional balcony, with an additional set- back floor, rising to a height of 12.6 metres. When objecting to the current development, also proposed by Ciantar Properties, the SCH raised concerns about the in- creased scale of the project com- pared to the 2017 permit. In response, the Planning Di- rectorate rejected the SCH's objections, arguing that the pro- posed height complies with the area's height limitations. It also pointed to similar developments of the same height within the same street, particularly the adja- cent building. The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has upheld a request by the Superintendence for Culture Heritage to suspend works on a permit issued by the Planning Authority in January Impact of new development on views from Villa Frere (left) and the Pieta primary school (right)