Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/688389
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JUNE 2016 4 News TIM DIACONO THE chief executive of the Plan- ning Authority (PA), Johann Buttigieg, has made an environ- mental case in favour of pro- posed skyscrapers in and around Paceville, arguing that high-rise will create more open spaces and reduce congestion. "The public and developers alike will benefit from high-rise," Buttigieg told radio presenter Andrew Azzopardi on Ghandi xi Nghid. "The developers will charge people higher prices for rooms in high-rise buildings due to the views, while the public will get to enjoy more open spaces that the developers will have to main- tain." He went on to argue that, such an example, was Spinola Garden which is maintained by Hilton and enjoyed by the general pub- lic. Four skyscrapers have been proposed in and around Pace- ville – two at the current Insti- tute of Tourism Studies site, and one apiece at Villa Rosa and Mercury House. A further two high-rise buildings, including a 44-storey tower, have also been mentioned. The proposals have been made possible thanks to recent plan- ning policy revisions that identi- fied Paceville as a high-rise zone. Revisions will now need to be made to the local plans before such developments can go ahead. Buttigieg said the PA has en- listed the help of international consultants to assess the impact of high-rise on Paceville and its surrounding areas, but ar- gued that skyscrapers will help the town "improve its touristic product". "Paceville isn't competing with Valletta, Sliema and Bugibba but with Italy, Algeria, Germany and Morocco. Corinthia is now in- vesting in a six-star hotel, some- thing it wouldn't have done if it had to wait 25 years for its rate of return." Buttigieg argued that improve- ments in services offered in the tourism sector must be accom- panied with infrastructural up- grades. High-rise buildings amalga- mated in a single area, he added, ease traffic congestion – "Down- ing Street, for example, is more heavily congested than London's Business Centre." He dismissed Azzopardi's con- cerns that high-rise develop- ment could damage Paceville's identity, citing Hilton Hotel as an example. "Trying to save the few pockets that remain in areas that have lost their identity can do more harm than good," Buttigieg said. "Do we want to become like Cuba, which has preserved its buildings from the 1960s? Even London, which is very con- servative with its architecture, has designated certain areas for high-rise. Development must oc- cur somewhere…" Confiscating Montekristo animals: 'We'd have to open our own illegal zoo' Johann Buttigieg insisted that the Montekristo estate shouldn't be closed down, even though it is littered with planning illegali- ties and was the location of two attacks on children by big cats in the past year. He flat-out rejected Azzopar- di's suggestion that the PA is toothless against powerful de- velopers, suggesting instead that they had no other option but to keep Charles Polidano's zoo open. "We can't confiscate the ani- mals because we'd create our own illegal zoo to house them; we can't forcefully export them because they were legally im- ported here, and we can't kill them because they are protected species…" He said that illegalities at the Montekristo estate have declined since he was appointed CEO, ar- guing that he cannot answer for what preceded his stewardship. "[Polidano] is in the process of removing the illegalities at Mon- tekristo that definitely cannot be sanctioned. Afterwards, the Planning Authority board will decide whether or not to sanc- tion the other ones." PA chief: 'High-rise will create open spaces, reduce Paceville congestion' "Developers will charge people higher prices for rooms in high-rise for views, the public will get to enjoy more open spaces the developers will have to maintain" "Trying to save the few pockets that remain in areas that have lost their identity can do more harm than good." PA chief Johann Buttigieg made an argument for high-rise development in Paceville, such as the proposed Seabank towers (above left) and the Villa Rosa project (below left)