Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/747633
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2016 8 JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has ap- proved an 80 square metre "store" with an underlying basement on the steep side of the Wied Babu valley in Zurrieq, overlooking the coastal cliffs in the vicinity of a Natura 2000 site. The large store will be replacing three smaller and scattered rooms, which will be demolished. Although the development was approved on condition that the new structure is used as an agri- cultural store the Environment and Resources Authority had signalled that the proposed layout of three interconnected rooms and a spiral staircase leading to a basement is more akin to a residential unit. "The application is only seeking to commit a substantial footprint for development under the pretext of agriculture, which is unaccepta- ble from an environmental point of view," an ERA memo on the appli- cation reads. Moreover the applicant himself had at an earlier stage indicated that the aim of the application was to convert the existing structures into a "residence". But plans were later changed, removing the refer- ence to residential use and referring to the new building as a store. The ERA also considered the de- velopment excessive in view of the fact that the farmer only tills 1.2 tumoli of land and has only been registered as a farmer for a "couple of months before the submission of the application." The same opinion was expressed by the Agricultural Advisory Com- mittee, which noted that the appli- cant has provided no proof of arable farming on the land in question. The committee also noted that no proof had been submitted that the original buildings had been con- structed for agricultural purposes. But the case officer dismissed the AAC's opinion because it referred to the use of the new buildings as a residence and not as a store. The latest plans design the three rooms as a "machinery room", an "agricultural room" and a "utility room". The basement is designated as a "tools room" and an "under- ground reservoir". The development was approved on the basis of the rural policy ap- proved in 2014, which allows the re- construction of any structure built before 1978, irrespective of whether it had a permit or not as long as the replacing structure occupies the same footprint as the original one. The policy also allows the devel- opment of a basement underneath the replacement building. It was on the basis of this policy that the Plan- ning Directorate recommended the approval of the new development. Aerial photos show that two structures, one of 14 square metres and another of 55 square metres existed before 1967. Another 11 square metre structure was built between 1967 and 1978. A rubble wall enclosing the site, which rises up to 2.5 metres in height, was also regularised. The Agricultural Advi- sory Committee had noted that the sanctioning of the rubble walls will "result in land parcels of less than one tumolo". The Environment Planning Com- mission chaired by architect Eliza- beth Ellul approved the application on condition that two Gharghar, two Judas and two Holm Oak trees screen the development. Godwin Abdilla, who was assisted by archi- tect Stanley Cortis, proposed the development. News 'Disney-fied' Sliema townhouse angers conservationists JAMES DEBONO ONE of Sliema's finest examples of art deco ar- chitecture on Dingli Street, may see four new storeys and a penthouse constructed over it, after the Planning Authority's design advisory committee (DAC) said it was "not averse" to the development. As further development encroaches on the last two-storey grand homes of the central Sliema road, developer Euchar Vella and his company Karkanja plan to turn the 'Assisi' townhouse into an apartment block, while retaining the fa- çade. The DAC is composed of architects David Mallia, Ray Demicoli, and art historian Charlene Vella, and advises the PA on the design quality of buildings and their impact on surroundings. Additionally, the Superintendence for Cultur- al Heritage did not object to the addition of new storeys, but advised the architect to change the façade of the building. The Sliema Historical Society took umbrage at the SCH's call for "feeble amendments" which will simply enhance "the Disney-fication of this fine house". It also noted that it was the Superintendence which back in 2008 had saved two other similar townhouses from the same fate. On that occa- sion the Superintendence insisted that retain- ing the façade was not enough because the two buildings were considered as "rare surviving ex- amples" of art deco houses. The house forms part of a well-preserved row of two-storey dwellings designed by Archi- tect Gustavo Vincenti, an exponent of the arts nouveau and deco architectural movement. Wealthy residents commissioned architects like him at a time when Dingli Street was a highly desirable place to live in. The building includes a spiral staircase leading to the roof, which the Superintendence wants dismantled and integrated in the development. A chapel altar should "also be preserved and in- tegrated in one of the lateral front rooms". PA ignores ERA on Wied Babu store Five storeys have been proposed to be added to this art deco Sliema townhouse on Dingli Street