Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/554768
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 AUGUST 2015 News 12 storey Gzira towers set JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority is set to approve a 12 storey building in Gzira in a public meeting tomorrow. A Project Description Statement (PDS) which outlines the possible impacts of this development was not published on the MEPA website as usually happens in similar cases but extracts published in the case officer report warn that the devel- opment could have an impact on historical views and landscapes. The development, proposed by Jean Borg of ADMP Limited, con- sists of a multi-storey, mixed-use commercial and residential de- velopment. It will include three basement parking levels accom- modating 125 car parking spaces, landscaped public open space and cafeteria at street level with overly- ing office space over a floor area of 4,435sqm, and 10 residential units. An application for a four-storey and penthouse development on the same site was approved by MEPA in 2011. This means that the im- pact of the project was already par- tially addressed before developers opted to apply the floor area ratio; a mechanism through which build- ing height is raised to increase sur- rounding open spaces. The application for the develop- ment was presented for screening in June 2014 and was only pub- lished on the MEPA website and newspapers in April 2015 after it was validated. This means that the application is being approved in a record time of four months. Extracts of the unpublished PDS quoted in the case officer report noted that the significant increase in height has potential implications for landscape and visual amen- ity, particularly in relation to the identified strategic view corridors of 'Valletta and the Marsamxett Harbour to Msida Church and to- wards Mdina', and the 'University to Tigne Point, Marsamxett Har- bour and Valletta'. It also states that the proximity of the proposed development to the Gzira urban conservation area is also pertinent "in respect of the potential impacts on the cultural and historical landscape". The PDS also noted that the sig- nificant increase in the height of the development could potentially have implications for wind circula- tion around the development and the wind microclimate of the sur- rounding streets. "The proposed tall building could also have potential overshadowing implications in relation to the sur- rounding development". The case officer report does not address the impact of the develop- ment on the landscape. It simply states that photomontages indicate that the surrounding buildings do not contain any features of particu- lar architectural or historic impor- tance. And that "the design of the elevation is unlikely to adversely affect the streetscape within which the site is located". Heights policy only indicative The case officer report also ac- knowledges that the heights policy approved in 2014 does not identify the "exact boundaries" of the loca- tions where high-rise development can be considered. "The specific sites where taller development may be acceptable within the appropriate locations still need to be studied further as not all sites will necessarily achieve the requirements of this policy and thus be suited to a tall building", the case officer report says. The policy simply designates ap- propriate locations for tall build- ings, which include "the Gzira em- ployment node" predominantly for office uses. The exact boundaries for the tall building clusters within the ap- propriate locations have not been identified, neither the appropri- ate heights nor the number of tall buildings, which should comprise the cluster. Thus, the boundaries of the em- ployment node in Gzira in the Lo- cal Plan serve only as a preliminary indication of the area where tall buildings may be located and are not exclusive zones. The case officer report states that the location of a specific site in an appropriate location does not im- ply that it is "undoubtedly suitable for a tall building". But the United Garage site is deemed acceptable. Going high in Gzira MEPA has already issued a per- mit for the Metropolis develop- ment in Gzira, which belongs to a member of the Husni Bey family of Libyan entrepreneurs The permit was issued in 2009 and renewed in June 2013, for three high-rise buildings consisting of 15, 29 and 35 floors over a public piazza con- necting Enrico Mizzi and Testafer- rata streets. In 2014 a new policy was ap- proved on building heights, which identified Gzira as one of the lo- calities where these developments can be approved. The site is a fully detached tri- angular-shaped plot of land oc- cupying an area of approximately 1,410sqm fronting Triq il- Gzira, Triq il-Rebha and Triq Tas-Sliema within the development zone of Gzira. The former building on site, known as the United Garage, has been demolished and the site is be- ing excavated following the issuing of permits committing the site to a commercial/office block. Located in close proximity to the Gzira parish church and town centre, the site context is predomi- nantly residential in nature with a mix of commercial outlets and tourism-related establishments, including small-scale hotels and catering units primarily along the Gzira waterfront. The surround- ing residential areas are charac- terised by traditional two- and three-storey townhouses typical of the Urban Conservation Area in the vicinity of the town centre and modern apartment developments Planning law: Government accepting anonymous submissions JAMES DEBONO INDIVIDUALS and organisa- tions who have sent submis- sions on the proposed planning and environment bills are being given the option of remaining anonymous. Individuals who sent submis- sions on the proposed separation of the planning and environmen- tal arms of MEPA are being told to choose between having their names published or not. The government has commit- ted itself to publish all the sub- missions made by individuals and organisations on the new law. The consultation period expired on August 7. The new planning law itself, which has already been dis- cussed in parliament but which is awaiting final approval, gives developers the opportunity to propose changes to their own advantage, without 'showing their cards'. By law every citizen can com- ment and submit proposals on any new planning policy or plans being discussed, and these comments are published to- gether with the replies given by the Planning Authority to each comment. This will not change in the new planning law except for one im- portant detail: while at present anyone making a submission to MEPA have their name pub- lished, the new planning law would allow people to submit their comments anonymously. That means architects and de- velopers with a vested interest in developing particular parcels of land, will be able to submit their comments on public consulta- tions anonymously. While the law approved in 2010 simply stated that when a plan or policy has been prepared, the Authority has to publish "a statement of the representations it has received and the responses it has made to those representa- tions," the new law states that the Authority should publish a statement of the representations "whether anonymous or other- wise", and the responses it has made to those representations. In the past, the publication of these names enabled newspapers like MaltaToday to establish a link between the final changes to plans and policies and the inf luence of vested interests on the planning process. This is the second attempt by the government to introduce se- crecy in the planning process. In July 2013, the Malta En- vironment and Planning Au- thority announced that it was granting anonymity to anyone proposing changes to the local plans. The startling announce- ment was made in a power point presentation by MEPA as it launched public discussions for the forthcoming changes to the local plans – the guides to all decisions related to planning applications. MEPA cited "data protec- tion" as the justification for this change in policy. MEPA's inten- tion was to publish the reference number given to each submis- sion – and not the name and sur- name of the person making the comment or submission. But the publication of the names of the architects and companies proposing changes to Malta's local plans was deemed not to be in breach of privacy rules by former Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Joseph Ebejer. In fact, the decision to give de- velopers the chance to apply was reversed in October 2013 follow- ing the declarations of the data protection commissioner. "In the interest of retaining the same high level of public scruti- ny and transparency, MEPA has reconsidered its decision not to publish the names of individu- als or organisations who submit representations or proposals for change in any land use or poli- cy review," a spokesperson for MEPA told MaltaToday.