Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2015 8 JAMES DEBONO A proposal by the Vittoriosa lo- cal council to add another floor to the local regatta club has been shot down by two heritage watchdogs. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage is objecting to the proposed addition to the Birgu Re- gatta Club, located within the ditch below the Vittoriosa bastions along the shore of Kalkara creek. And MEPA's Cultural Heritage Panel is objecting not only to the additional height proposal, but also to other structures at ground level. Mayor John Boxall presented the application, to also regularise illegal development in August last year. According to the Superintend- ence, the proposed additional height will interrupt existing views of the bastions. The Superintendence noted that the harbour fortifications were placed on the "tentative list" for in- scription as a Unesco World Herit- age Site. A sally port, which forms part of the fortifications, is located a few metres away from the proposed development. The Superintendence is not ob- jecting to the proposed alterations at ground level. But it is calling on MEPA to reject the development if the proposed first floor level is not removed. But for MEPA's Cultural Herit- age Panel, the existing building is already creating a negative impact on the bastions and it is therefore objecting not just to any increase in height to the present building, but also to any sanctioning of structures at ground floor, which the panel says should be demolished. The site is already subject to three enforcement orders issued in 2007 against the illegal extension of the existing building. The premises of the Birgu Re- gatta club include facilities for the storage of boats, a snack bar with outside seating and a large canopy. Boxall's application also proposes the regularisation of illegally con- structed rooms at ground level. An JAMES DEBONO THE area occupied by supermar- kets and convenience stores in northern Malta has trebled over the past two decades. A retail impact assessment car- ried out by construction firm Gatt Brothers for a new 1,600 square metre Mosta supermarket they will build, predicts the greatest effect of customer displacement will be felt by GS Supermarket in Naxxar and Ta' Natu supermarket in Mosta. The new outlet is being proposed in the outskirts of Mosta in the vicinity of the MCAST complex, and will replace an existing con- crete batching plant owned by Fort Blocks Limited, a subsidiary of Gatt Brothers. Retail impact studies are an ob- ligatory requirement for large-scale retail developments to assess their impact on trade in their catchments area. The study shows that the area occupied by convenience stores lo- cated outside the town centres of Gharghur, Mellieha, Mgarr, Mosta, Mtarfa, Naxxar, St Paul's Bay and Rabat increased by 11,944 square metres in 1999 to 31,182 square metres in 2012. An increase of 8,626 square me- tres took place between 2000 and 2006. A further increase of 10,562 square metres took place between 2007 and 2012. Within the town centres the area occupied by convenience stores also increased from 1,927 square metres to 7,689 square metres. The RIA states that the new su- permarket's catchments area will include Mosta, Mgarr, Bidnija, Naxxar, Rabat and Mtarfa, whose residents will be the most likey to visit the supermarket for their weekly, fortnightly or monthly shopping. Customers from Mellieha and St Paul's Bay who commute south- wards to their place of work are also expected to buy from the new supermarket. The study excludes that the new supermarket will in any way di- vert shopping from the Mosta city centre. Moreover, according to the study the owner intends to intro- duce a minivan service between the supermarket and the centre of Mosta to encourage a spill-over of trade into the city centre. The study claims there is no se- rious long-term threat to existing stores and that existing retailers will be able to respond to the higher competition "with aggressive mar- keting and sales campaigns". The study concludes that the new supermarket will mostly attract cus- tomers from the Santa Margarita, Ta' Zokrija, Tal-Blata l-Gholja and Tal-Wej areas in Mosta. At the moment these areas form part of the GS Supermarket's catch- ment. In the long run the new supermar- ket and GS supermarket would ac- tively compete for business generat- ed by these neighbourhoods, but the study notes that GS Supermarket's catchment area also includes Iklin, San Gwann and parts of Birkirkara, which will not be affected by the opening of the new supermarket. The next greatest impact will be felt by Ta' Natu supermarket which, according to the study, is very pop- ular with people living in the Ta' Zokrija area in Mosta. Despite its popularity, the study notes that an on-site inspection showed shoppers checking out with smaller quanti- ties than one would expect from a large supermarket. News Heritage watchdogs against Retail hunger sees trebling in space for supermarket, stores in the north