Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/537300
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JULY 2015 8 News JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority is claiming that a policy on hotel heights approved in 2014 has superseded the 2006 development brief for Tigné's Fort Cambridge, which banned any ad- ditional storeys on the historical building. GAP Holdings's 40-storey tower hotel proposed atop Fort Cam- bridge's former officers' mess will now be assessed according to the new hotel heights policy, and not according to the development brief approved in 2006, which limited development to just four storeys. "The proposed development will be evaluated according to cur- rent policies," a spokesperson for MEPA replied when pressed on how the authority is considering the tower building on the former military barracks, when the de- velopment brief clearly stated that no additional storeys should be al- lowed on the historical building. The new policy regulating the heights of hotels allows four- and five-star hotels to add any number of storeys over and above the number allowed in the Local Plan, as long as the resulting design "constitutes a landmark having unique aesthetic characteristics within the urban context". But the development brief, which set the planning parameters for the area before it was leased to GAP Holdings in 2007, clearly banned any additional heights on histori- cal buildings. The brief, which is still legally binding, had set out the building to "act as a buffer between new higher development on the site and the surrounding residential blocks. No additional floors are to be allowed." Delay in scheduling crucial for approval There is an apparent snag: the new policy on hotel heights does not apply to development on "scheduled sites" like historical buildings, such as the former mili- tary barracks. But the former barracks is not a scheduled building. A MEPA spokesperson recently confirmed that the site "has been proposed by MEPA for grade 2 protection", which would not allow the appli- cation of the new hotel heights policy. But no final decision has been taken about the grade 2 schedul- ing. What this means is that any pol- icy allowing an unlimited number of storeys to be added to the former barracks would be applica- ble only because the government and MEPA have yet to schedule the site. There are no doubts about the historical importance of the build- ing. The former barracks, an eye- catching structure, are the last re- maining military barracks building in Tigné. It was designed and built in the early 1900s, and therefore together with Fort Cambridge of- fers a valuable link with the Brit- ish colonial period. As stated in the Fort Cambridge brief: "Apart from its historical importance, it also significantly contributes to the character, identity and local distinctiveness of the area." Moreover the lease agreement signed with the government in 2007 also obliged the developers to restore the barracks before 2017. The proposal made by GAP Hold- ings is to restore the façade of the building while allowing its internal demolition. Conflict in interpretation MaltaToday is informed that there are conflicting interpreta- tions about whether the new pol- icy on hotel heights can supersede a development brief. Experts contacted by MaltaTo- day pointed out that applications are normally determined accord- ing to the policy in force at the time of the decision. "This has been a long established legal principle," one expert on law and planning pointed out. But the same planning expert also pointed out that in this case the discrepancy is between two completely different documents: ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT – REMOVING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT – We think you'll like what's coming, because we've changed the rules and made it easier than ever before to qualify for Employment Aid: You open your job doors to those who are more challenged and we will pay you a subsidy of €85 per week per new recruit for 26 weeks or for 52 weeks or for 104 weeks, or a subsidy of €125 per week for as many as 156 weeks in the case of registered disabled persons. Contact us on telephone number 2220 1399 or email address a2e.etc@gov.mt GRANTS TO PROMOTE NEW EMPLOYMENT FOR REGISTERED DISABLED PERSONS: AS FROM 1ST JUNE, 2015. FOR OTHER GROUPS: COMING SOON www.etc.gov.mt New policies apply for 40-storey hotel Original four-storey limit stated in development brief for Fort Cambridge 'does not apply'