Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/713415
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2016 News Sliema council ready to go to court to oppose Townsquare tower Sliema Labour councillor says she is ready to go against party line and vote to appeal Townsquare project if mayor's motion is 'in residents' best interests' TIM DIACONO THE Sliema local council is ready to take its fight against the con- struction of a 38-storey skyscrap- er at Qui Si Sana all the way to court, its vice-mayor has pledged. "If our appeal at the Environ- ment and Planning Review Tri- bunal fails, then we will challenge the Planning Authority's decision in court. This project will severe- ly impact residents, and there's no way we're giving up this fight," Kris Busietta told MaltaToday. The Townsquare project, which will be developed by the Gasan Group, was narrowly approved by the Planning Authority last week. It is set to become Malta's tallest building, dwarfing the 23-f loor Portomaso tower. However, the council has warned of several shortcomings in the PA's decision-making pro- cess, and its appeal is likely to fo- cus on the lack of impact studies and strategies that were present- ed to the board. PN councillor Paul Radmilli noted that the only traffic study presented to the board was one conducted in 2007 that foresaw Sliema traffic increasing by 3,500 cars a day, but without further de- tails such as how long an average drive from Gzira to Sliema would take. "Traffic is a reality for Sliema residents and commuters, and it is completely unacceptable that this data was not presented to the board before the decision was taken," Radmilli told MaltaToday. He also argued that the Floor to Area Ratio policy regulating high-rise wasn't fully adhered to, such as its requirements for the developer to draft a green transport strategy, a waste man- agement strategy, and an impact study on public transport. "It was a truly laughable situ- ation. In his presentation, the planning case officer proposed that the developers conduct a green transport strategy, but the architect [representing developer Gasan] said that they had already conducted it. Was the PA even in- formed about it, and why wasn't it published before the vote was taken?" Radmilli recounted how the developers pledged to carry out a waste management strategy in the future, and failed to even mention such a study on public transport. "What will happen if the waste management is not satisfactory? It should have been vetted by the Environment and Resources Au- thority before the vote was taken. Waste management is a huge problem in Sliema, given that most apartments don't have an internal skip system." Also notable was the absence of ERA chairman Victor Axiak from the council on medical grounds; the law didn't allow the author- ity to send a representative in his stead. "If Axiak was present, then the vote would have been a tie and the final say would have lain with [PA chairman] Vince Cassar, who had voted against the pro- ject," Radmilli said. "Also, ERA's voice could have inf luenced other board-members during the five hour debate. I would have hoped that everyone went to the meet- ing with an open mind." Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop has said he hopes the council – which is largely Nationalist – can present a united front against the d e v e l o p m e n t , but admitted he couldn't predict which way the two Labour councillors would vote. One of the two Labour councillors, Marianne Aquilina, said she would re- serve her judgement on whether to vote in favour of appeal- ing until she sees the motion that Chircop presents to the council. "I hope that the council can maintain its united stance and that the motion doesn't go over- board. I'll place the residents' in- terests ahead of the government's or the Labour Party's interests when it comes to decide how to vote," she said. "In principle, I agree with the Townsquare pro- ject but I am not satisfied at the lack of studies [that were present- ed to the board]." The other PL Sliema councillor, Lisa Cassar Shaw, was unavail- able for comment at the time of writing. 'Skyscraper will ruin Sliema skyline, cause traffic chaos' Sliema residents and commut- ers who participated in a Mal- taToday vox pop warned that the skyscraper would ruin Sliema's skyline and ag- gravate traffic and parking problems in the town. "I disagree with the tower, as it will require too many infrastruc- tural changes to the drainage sys- tem and the electric- ity network and will create heavy traffic congestion," John Agius said from a bench in Tower Road. "Also, a tower like that will cast a shadow on other buildings and spoil the view for people. I don't think it's adequate that a tower be built in Sliema that is al- ready so congested with people." By his side, Leonard Callus nod- ded in agreement at his friend's arguments. "I agree with what [John] said, that it would create infrastruc- tural and traffic problems. They could have built the tower in an- other place, but not Sliema." Anthony Licari, Malta's ambas- sador to Slovakia, looked almost longingly towards the skyline above the Qui Si Sana coast as he spoke to MaltaToday. "I understand the arguments posed by people in favour of build- ing skyscrapers, and I have a very balanced opinion about the whole issue. However, I lean towards the opposition against skyscrapers principally because they ruin the skyline. Sliema used to be full of lovely villas, and the town has become less beautiful ever since all these m u l t i - s t o r e y buildings started rising." R e s i d e n t George Scerri harked back to the days when the town's only buildings were a maximum of two storeys. "Now it's all towers and the air has be- come enclosed." He also warned that the Townsquare project could harm business in Sliema, as it would aggravate the town's already notorious parking problem. "Yes, the project will include a car park but residents will also make use of it so it will always be full up," he said of the project's proposed underground car park that will cater for 748 vehicles. "I foresee that shops will eventually see their business declining." Doris Cutajar, a Maltese-Aus- tralian who returned to her place of birth on holiday, said that such projects will eventually see Slie- ma resemble Surfers' Paradise, a suburb on the Queensland coast characterized by high-rise build- ings. "It's just concrete over concrete over concrete… these buildings around the coast are all high-rise compared to what I was used to when I was younger," she said. "High-rise buildings are spoiling the beauty of the Sliema bay, and the Townsquare tower will be an eyesore, a huge monster that will cast a shadow on all other build- ings. Malta is al- ready over-popu- lated; we don't need high-rise." Erno Szakalos, a Hungarian busker who was been liv- ing in Malta for a few years, said that the project posed a threat to the is- land's "authenticity". "The unique thing about Malta was that you could basically walk through history. It's still nice of course, but [high-rise buildings] make it seem as though it just wants to copy Western coun- tries." tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt Labour councillor Marianne Aquilina is ready to put the residents' interests ahead of the government's or the Labour Party's interests PN councillor Kris Busietta said the council will challenge the Planning Authority's decision in court if appeal at the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal fails The proposed tower will do exactly that: it will tower over everything