Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/423164
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2014 7 News canc er in Malta Europe MEPA set to give go ahead to six storeys above naval clinic JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority's Environment Directorate (EPD) had expressed concern about vibrations from ex- cavations required for developing a two-level car park beneath the Sliema pjazzetta on the underlying Ghar id-Dud cave system. But the Planning Directorate con- cluded that these excavations can still be carried out in a way that will not endanger the Ghar id-dud and Ghar il-Lembi caves. A decision on the project, which proposes an extra six floors and a penthouse level, built on the exist- ing naval clinic façade and two lev- els of car park under the pjazzetta is expected on 18 December. The EPD noted that the proposed underground car park beneath the pjazzetta is directly adjacent to the area identified as "moderately sensi- tive" to "external stress" in terms of cave and ground stability in a survey carried out in October 2004. The study was conducted to assess the impact of a proposed car park below the existing promenade. Plans for the development of this car park were shelved after the re- sults of these studies were published by MaltaToday. According to the report, Ghar il- Lembi has a "very weak" internal stability and could collapse in the "short term" while the internal sta- bility of Ghar id-Dud is "weak" but not as weak as that of Ghar il-Lembi, making its collapse less imminent. The EPD raised concerns on the works to be carried out in the vi- cinity of the sensitivity zones and requested that the underground car park be down scaled to avoid excavations in the area nearest to the sensitive zone and called for a targeted geo-technical study to as- sess the impact of excavations in the other areas. According to the EPD, since sev- eral karstic features are known to occur in the area "it cannot be safely assumed that the vibrations will not travel to the high sensitive zones, potentially causing adverse effects to the cave systems". While taking note of these com- ments the Planning Directorate concluded that the proposed car park under the pjazzetta is further away from the sensitive area. The Planning Directorate insisted that the sensitivity zones do not ex- tend below the open piazza. Moreo- ver the 2004 report also states that in the areas of moderate sensitivity like that immediately in the vicinity of the proposed car park, small scale works can still take place if adequate precautions are taken, Pjazzetta to be retained as pub- lic open space The Planning Directorate is rec- ommending the approval of an ex- tra six storeys on the existing façade of the naval clinic on condition that the developers sign a public deed to ensure that the pjazzetta is retained as a public open space, is adequately landscaped and maintained and is used for the enjoyment of the pub- lic. Originally developer Mark Gasan wanted to build over the Pjazzetta but following protests by the local council in 2003, MEPA refused this application, which is still under ap- peal. In fact the developers are also be- ing asked by MEPA to drop an ap- peal against a previous MEPA refus- al to build over the pjazzetta. This development permission application proposes the reten- tion and restoration of an existing Grade 2 scheduled façade known as the 'clinic'. But it also calls for the "sanctioning" of the illegal internal demolition of the building. According to the Planning Direc- torate the proposed development will result in considerable gains for the public, which will finally have access to a landscaped space giving onto a restored clinic façade, which could be appreciated as a cultural heritage asset for the area. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also given its go ahead to the project, noting that the cur- rent proposals reflect "long-stand- ing project design negotiations with MEPA", intended to create a viable project with a positive public gain on the urban environment. In August 2013 the Sliema Lo- cal Council also gave its blessing to the proposed redevelopment of this long-abandoned site, welcoming the proposal to restore the historic façade and open space that are im- portant landmarks in the locality. But the Sliema council was the first to express concern on the pos- sible impact on the cave system and to report the existence of an air raid shelter. The council also reported the ex- istence of an air raid shelter, noting that its records show that one such refuge exists below Il-Piazzetta call- ing for its preservation. It was only following the council's report that the developers' architect confirmed the existence of a shelter on site. A survey of the shelter was submitted to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and MEPA. The SCH reviewed the cultural heritage importance of the shelter, concluding that they had no objec- tion to the proposed elimination of the shelter by the proposed develop- ment. However, in view of the loss of a subterranean corridor, they recommended "the mapping and recording of this feature as a mitiga- tion measure". The Planning Directorate claims that the proposed development respects the height limitation pro- posed in the local plan. But while the proposed number of floors is considered as being within those stipulated in the local plan from a height in metres point of view, the proposed development is 34.39m high, which exceeds the maximum height in metres by 2.14m. Transport Malta has also approved the development even if studies showed that by 2022 one of the junc- tions would not be able to absorb the increase in traffic if a new rounda- bout is not created. The highest proportions of lung cancer among all deaths due to cancer were recorded in Hungary (26.1%), the Netherlands (24.6%), Belgium (24.5%) Greece and Poland (both 24.1%), and the lowest in Por- tugal (14.5%), Sweden (16.7%), Latvia (16.8%), Lithuania and Slovakia (both 17.1%). Compared with 2002, the proportions of lung cancer among all deaths due to cancer increased in 14 Member States, decreased in 10 and remained almost stable in Slovenia and Finland. In 2011, the highest proportions of deaths due to colorectal cancer among all deaths due to cancer were registered in Hungary (15.5%), Slova- kia (15.3%), Portugal (15.0%), Croatia (14.7%) and Spain (14.6%). At the opposite end of the scale, colorectal cancer represented less than 10% of all deaths due to cancer in Cyprus (7.9%), Greece (8.9%) and Finland (9.8%). Prostate cancer Prostate cancer represented in 2011 the fifth main type of fatal cancer in the EU28, with a 5.7% share in all deaths due to cancer. Prostate can- cer however only affects men, among whom it caused 10.2% of all deaths due to cancer in 2011 in the EU28. Among Member States, the high- est shares were observed in the three Nordic Member States: Swe- den (11.0% of deaths due to cancer in the total population, and 20.9% of all deaths due to cancer among the male population), Denmark (7.9% and 15.1%) and Finland (7.6% and 14.4%). On the contrary, shares of less than 5% of all deaths due to cancer in the total population were recorded in Hungary (3.7% of deaths due to can- cer in the total population, and 6.7% of all deaths due to cancer among the male population), Malta (4.0% and 7.4%), Romania (4.1% and 6.9%), Po- land (4.4% and 7.9%), Italy (4.5% and 8.0%), Luxembourg (4.7% and 8.6%), the Czech Republic (4.8% and 8.7%) and Slovakia (4.9% and 8.4%).