Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542182
JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 DECEMBER 2025 NEWS The MaltaToday Midweek edition will not be published over the holidays (Wednesday 24 and 31 December) and will be back in print on Wednesday 7 January 2025 Developers insist on seven floors on mega rationalisation site in Swatar DEVELOPERS are insisting on a building height of 22 metres, the equivalent of seven floors, on a large site in Swatar that was added to the development zones in 2006. The site, which is the size of 17 football pitches, is behind St Martin's College in Msida and is largely farmland. This emerges from the latest plans submitted on 17 Decem- ber, which reiterate a demand made in the original plans sub- mitted seven years ago. The ap- plication had been in a state of hibernation since 2021, when the last plans were submitted. The proposed height is based on a four-storey building with a semi-basement limit set out in the local plan, which is convert- ed into a 22-metre height under Annex 2 of the Development Control Design Policy. This an- nex translates building heights expressed in floors into metric limits. The zoning application has been pending for the past seven years. The owners have present- ed plans envisaging more than 11,000sq.m of commercial de- velopment, 31,500sq.m of mixed residential and commercial de- velopment, and 16,000sq.m of purely residential development on the 115,454sq.m site. The proposed development would occupy around 70% of the site. The landowners include S.C. & Co Limited, PD Finance Limit- ed, Paul Vella's P&S Ltd, Anton Camilleri's Camcas Ltd, former Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti, en- trepreneur James Barbara, sev- eral other individual owners, and the government. The local plan stipulates that the Planning Authority should prepare a development brief for the area before any private de- velopment is considered. It also states that the brief should prioritise "low traf- fic-generating" employment uses, with preference given to ancillary uses related to Mater Dei Hospital and the Universi- ty of Malta. However, in 2019 a spokesperson for the Planning Authority told MaltaToday that it had no intention of issuing such a brief for public consulta- tion and would instead consider the zoning application submit- ted by the site's owners. Subsequently, the application was reworded to seek a change to the local plan in order to es- tablish the road network, build- ing heights, zoning conditions and development parameters. A traffic impact assessment was also requested by the Planning Authority in 2020. The results of this study have still not been made available to the public. Plans submitted by the de- velopers indicate that 22.1% of the site would be designated as green space. However, the mapped green areas are elon- gated in shape, suggesting that much of this space would effec- tively consist of front gardens rather than substantial open areas. In 2019, the Msida Local Council objected to the applica- tion, arguing that the proposed building heights and density were excessive. The site is one of the largest areas added to development zones in the 2006 rationalisa- tion exercise. It is bounded by Triq Dun Karm Bypass, Triq is-Swatar, Triq Indri Grima and Triq Monsinjur Innocenz Zammit, and currently con- sists mainly of agricultural land, alongside a number of old farm- houses, rubble walls and some dwellings. The large tract of farmland in Swatar, which still needs to be zoned after being added to the development zone in 2006 Hotel and apartment blocks proposed in St Julian's village core Plans have been submitted for a hotel and two apartment blocks on a site at the corner of Triq il-Karmnu and Triq Sant'Anglu in the heart of St Julian's. The site, enclosed behind a large curved wall, currently hosts a traditional townhouse surrounded by a spacious gar- den with mature trees and is located within an Urban Con- servation Area (UCA). The outline application, sub- mitted by Amir Limited, owned by Mamdouh Altllas, is broad in scope. It seeks the partial ex- cavation of the disturbed site to establish height potential and use and confirms full owner- ship of the land. Plans envision a boutique ho- tel on the site of the existing building, two apartment blocks within part of the garden, and a pool area, while retaining the site's entrance as a garden next to an existing belvedere. Build- ing heights, however, have not been specified. As an outline application, it seeks approval in principle, set- ting out the intended land use, scale, and general parameters, while leaving detailed design, elevations, and construction specifics for a future full appli- cation. The submitted application form states that no trees will be uprooted and that existing rubble walls will remain intact, even if new structures are pro- posed within the garden. No previous applications have been submitted for this site. While the existing building and garden are unprotected, their location within a UCA means that strict rules apply to building heights, which must align with the predominant height of surrounding tradi- tional buildings, and demoli- tion of existing structures is generally precluded. Reporting by James Debono The house with its large garden are situated in the village core