Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/620988
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 DECEMBER 2015 3 News News Identity Malta offices besieged by expired ID card holders SOME 2,000 persons have not yet renewed their expired ID Cards as the Identity Malta offices in Blata l-Bajda were once again besieged by hun- dreds of people racing against the Thursday deadline. As from 1 January, expired cards cannot be used but Identity Malta denied that people would be charged for renewals as from next week. Citizens with expired cards were advised to renew their cards before the end of the year, prompting thousands of people to queue for hours at the Identity Malta offices. But given the long lines, Identity Malta has decided to waive penalties for late renew- als, and people will only be charged administrative fees. For years, expired ID cards were being accepted by banks and government departments but this will no longer be pos- sible in January. Policy facilitates conversion of historical villas CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Ar- chitect and freeport chairman Robert Sarsero, who also serves as a member of MEPA's appeals tribunal, has drawn up the plans for the project. The isolation hospital was one of four historical buildings ear- marked for restoration for com- mercial purposes in an expres- sion of interest issued this year. But the policy revision will make it easier for developers to turn a number of historical villas into homes for the elderly. Existing homes for the elderly, such as Villa Roseville – a grade 2 listed building hosting a home run by Nazzareno Vassallo's Caremalta – may also be eligible to build two extra storeys if the new policy is approved. But it is not clear whether the policy applies to existing homes because the proposed policy states that two extra storeys can only be permitted if this is deemed necessary for the con- version of these scheduled build- ings into retirement homes. Other historical buildings enjoy- ing a Grade 2 status include Villa Bonici in Sliema, Villa Madama in Attard and Villa Grognet in Mosta. Moreover the new policy also allows an extra two storeys with- in Urban Conservation Areas. The policy objectives published last year had foreseen banning such development in historic vil- lage cores but this has been re- vised in view of the adoption of the Strategic Plan for the Envi- ronment and Development. The SPED refers to a "context driven approach to the control of build- ing heights within these areas". Therefore according to the new draft document the increase of building heights in UCAs for use as a retirement home is now dic- tated by how any such proposal "fits" within the existing historic environment. Roseville home for the elderly, a listed Grade 2 building, may be eligible for two additional storeys, but the policy is not clear