Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/451763
10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2015 JAMES DEBONO MEPA'S Planning Directorate is in "preliminary discussions" on a pro- posal to develop a "new hotel" on the abandoned site of the former Holiday Inn in Tigné, Sliema a spokesperson for the Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority confirmed. The building, part of which in- cludes the officers' quarters dating back to the British colonial era, has been left in a shabby and abandoned state for the past decade despite be- ing proposed for Grade 2 scheduling by MEPA. MaltaToday is informed that one of the proposals being considered is a high-rise development on part of the site, which may possibly be the highest ever in the area. When asked whether a high rise development is being proposed in the barracks area, Paul Attard, di- rector of GAP Developments Plc, said the company has "no particular plans" for the site but confirmed that it "is looking to all possibilities avail- able according to the current build- ing policies". MEPA did not reply when asked whether the site is eligible for high- rise development. The Tigné penin- sula is one of the sites where high- rise development over 11 storeys can take place according to the new policy approved in 2014. Over the past months residents have denounced "countless mysteri- ous fires" and a general lack of main- tenance which have made the aban- doned building a haven for "vermin of all kinds". MEPA also confirmed that a per- mit issued in 2010 obliging develop- ers to restore Fort Cambridge did not impose any obligations with re- gard to the upkeep of the British era barracks. Currently the developers are conducting works to restore the nearby fort. The site was inspected on Monday following "a lot of complaints from residents" about the accumulation of rubbish and debris. But according to MEPA there was no reason to is- sue an enforcement order against the owners. According to Paul Attard, GAP Developments is presently concen- trating on the restoration works of Fort Cambridge – the pentagonal British-built fortress dating back to 1880s and the glacis. "As one would appreciate, restora- tion is a very laborious work and it takes quite an amount of time and attention." As regards the Barracks, he point- ed out that the building has been sealed. On its part MEPA confirmed that the ex-British barracks, which is part of the former hotel site, is being pro- posed as a Grade 2 scheduled build- ing. Green Party councillor Michael Briguglio described the site of the of- ficers' quarters as a mess. "Despite its architectural beauty, it has been transformed into an aban- doned site, with rubbish accumulat- ing, and there was also a fire in the building," he said. Briguglio claimed that Sliema resi- dents had been given the impression that the officers' quarters will be re- stored to its former state by the Fort Cambridge developers, but instead it has been left to rot. "This reflects a lack of respect to- wards residents and the locality," Briguglio said, auguring that the bad state of the building will not be used as an excuse to obtain a free hand which would lead to unsightly over- development. Although the site is adjacent to the high rise Fort Cambridge develop- ment, it also lies in proximity to low- rise residential houses. The barracks is being proposed for Grade 2 scheduling by the Malta En- vironment and Planning Authority. If scheduled, the building itself will be protected from demolition but al- terations can be made to its interior. Recently the façade of the naval clin- ic was integrated in an eight-storey development next to the Pjazzetta at Ghar il-Lembi Sliema. New hotel proposed on abandoned Holiday Inn site Luqa's 'runway-hazard' Lidl now also wants children's playing field JAMES DEBONO THE Lidl supermarket in Luqa, approved in 2007 outside develop- ment zones against the advice of the Civil Aviation Department, now wants to erect a children's playing field and shading devices in the ad- jacent car park. It is being proposed that the shad- ing devices be equipped with pho- tovoltaic panels. Both the Civil Aviation Depart- ment and Malta International Air- port had objected to the MEPA permit being issued back in 2007 due to its proximity to the airport runway. Signs in the car park erected after the permit was issued, still advise the general public that the site is located "within the direct path of low flying aircraft" and therefore exposed to health and safety risks… "particularly in the event of an air- craft accident". Legal Notice 80 of 2004 provides that when low flying aircraft, at or near an aerodrome, are likely to be hazardous to people or vehicular traffic, the aerodrome operator is obliged to post hazard warning no- tices on any public way that is adja- cent to the manoeuvring area. A report by former MEPA audi- tor Joe Falzon confirmed that the permit for the supermarket was approved by MEPA despite the ob- jections filed by the Civil Aviation Department and the Malta Interna- tional Airport, because the super- market was located within 250m of runway 24, and its height was 2.5m higher than the runway approach protection surface. The permit was even approved despite a previous refusal for a car hire firm to build a garage, because the site is within the public safety zone on the approach to runway 24. In October 2014 the Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Authority's environment planning commission ignored the advice of its own case officer in approving a new playing ground next to the Lidl supermar- ket in Xewkija, for use by Lidl cus- tomers. The abandoned Holiday Inn hotel: fires have left their mark around the derelict building, a former colonial construction News