Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/692424
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2016 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's plan- ning directorate is recommend- ing the approval of a 38-storey tower in Sliema next to Villa Dra- go, proposed by the Gasan Group, against a 'planning gain' of €266,314 that has to be paid to fund traffic management and ur- ban improvement projects. A final decision will be taken at a public meeting set for next week. The meeting will be held on 23 June at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. The Townsquare tower will comprise 159 residential units, 4,719 square metres of offices, 8,241 sq.m. of commercial space and 748 parking spaces as well as the restoration of Villa Drago. The case officer acknowledged that the project will break the Sliema skyline but said the PA's policy on tall buildings approved in 2014 now identifies the Tigné area as "a cluster of tall build- ings." "The visual assessment should be considered in relation to the prospective skyline of the area as a cluster of high buildings," the case officer said. The PA's design advisory com- mittee is chaired by PA official and planner Dr David Mallia but also includes Portomaso architect Ray Demicoli, who himself has prepared plans for the neighbour- ing 40-storey tower proposed by GAP in Tigné, and historian Dr Charlene Vella. Indeed, Townsquare is being ap- proved as part of a cluster of tall buildings whose impact is yet to be assessed by the PA. The PA's design advisory com- mittee also deemed the tower, which will dominate the Slie- ma skyline, as "one aspiring to achieve high quality development in the middle of Sliema." The case officer said the tower would have a greater impact on land use if the area is developed according to the traditional style of apartment blocks, than if it was developed using the f loor area ra- tio which promotes taller build- ings on condition that more open space around them is created. Townsquare will include a central plaza and underground car park, with an entrance from Hughes Hallet Street and an un- derground link under Triq Qui- Si-Sana. The project's environmental impact assessment said it expect- ed residents in the area to keep windows shut to minimise noise during the excavation, which will take 10 months, and construc- tion, which will take four years. The Environment and Resourc- es Authority expressed concern on the visual impact of the pro- ject. While the EIA consultants commissioned by the Gasan Group warned that the project would have a major impact when seen from Tower Road and from the Preluna Hotel, the ERA con- tends that the project would also have a major impact when seen from Manoel Island and the Val- letta ferry landing. It also expressed concern on the results of a scanline geologi- cal survey, which warned of the "potential collapse of excavation". This impact is described as "un- certain" in the EPS. The ERA is calling for more "precise details", adding that a conclusive assessment on this issue could only be made when these details are submitted to the Planning Authority. As far as plans go, a 40-storey tower being proposed on top of the Fort Cambridge officers' mess is set to become Malta's tallest tower block. Together with Town- square, the two projects together will result in an additional daily 6,000 vehicles passing through the area. If approved the two Sliema tow- ers will be higher than any other building in Malta, surpassing by far the Portomaso tower, which is 23 f loors. Not very far away, the Metropolis development in Gzira is set to rise to 33 f loors. A 40-storey tower is also being pro- posed next to Mercury House in Paceville. Refusal recommended for Hondoq marina On the same day the Planning Board will also discuss an ap- plication presented in 2002, en- visioning the development of a destination port comprising a hotel, a yacht marina and a tour- ist village at Hondoq ir-Rummien in Gozo. In this case the Plan- ning Directorate is calling on the board to reject the project. In 2011 the Planning Author- ity's Environment Protection Di- rectorate had already called for a refusal of the project. MEPA's Planning Directorate was just about to issue the fi- nal case officer report calling for a refusal of the project when the developers presented a set of new plans which retained the residential aspect of the project but dropped the yacht marina, replacing it with a swimming la- goon. But the authority told the Hondoq ir-Rummien developers that it would only consider the latest plans if a new application is presented. The application has been dor- mant since 2011 and has only been resurrected now on the same day that the PA is expected to decide on the controversial Sliema tower. In the same marathon session the PA will also be taking a final decision on the development of a private lido on reclaimed land on the Gzira waterfront which will see the two 160 square me- tre restaurants and a large pri- vate swimming pool over a total area of 2,300 square metres of reclaimed land along the Gzira promenade. The Planning Directorate is rec- ommending the approval of the project, which was approved at outline stage last year. While the existing promenade will be retained, sea views will be interrupted by the approved pri- vate facilities that will serve four Gzira hotels. Walking directly along the sea- shore on this part of the Gzira coast will still be possible along a new, two-metre wide passage- way – wide enough for two peo- ple to walk side by side – skirting around the new pool area. Sliema's 38-storey Townsquare project approved The new tower is set to dominate views of the Sliema skyline after being granted planning approval