Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/758493
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2016 8 News JAMES DEBONO THE Cloisters, a scheduled palaz- zo in Mrabat Street, Sliema, is on sale for €3.7 million on a property website which states – incorrectly – that "the magnificent palazzo" comes with "permits approved for a 34-room boutique hotel", apart from plans for a restaurant, recep- tion and parking. In reality the Planning Authority is still processing an outline appli- cation presented by Darren Desira, for the conversion of the building into a boutique hotel together with another eight levels of apartments that will rise to 22 metres above Triq Bonavita and Triq is-Sorijiet, at the back of the scheduled Grade 2 building. The original plans for the devel- opment were presented by Bilom Group, but the latest plans have been presented by Desira, a share- holder in a number of Bilom sub- sidiaries. Pierre Faure Real Estate, on whose site the building is being advertised, pointed out to Malta- Today that the information they provide was that furnished by the owners. The latest designs, which show the additional storey added on to the historical building built in a more traditional style, were en- dorsed by both the Design Advi- sory Committee and the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage but Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar and the Sliema Heritage Society are still objecting. The Sliema Heritage Society not- ed that the project still envisions the "destruction of an extensive garden" and described the pro- posed development as a "mutila- tion of a historical building" which would set a precedent for the de- struction of hundreds of similar properties. Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar pointed out that the facades of the building along Triq is-Sorijiet and Triq Bonavita will still be "wiped out" and replaced by a building which contrasts with the context of the site. PUBLIC CONSULTATION - PHASE 1 PARTIAL REVIEW TO THE GOZO & COMINO LOCAL PLAN (2006) Site at Taċ-Ċnus, Xewkija (Gozo) The Planning Authority has been requested by Government to initiate a partial local plan review of the Gozo and Comino Local Plan (2006) for Xewkija, site at Taċ-Ċnus. The Planning Authority is publishing, for public consultation, the proposed objective which will guide the formulation of this review. The proposed objective is: • To amend the alignment of Triq San Pawl in Xewkija (Gozo). The map indicating the site area which will be effected by this review, maybe viewed on the Authority's website www.pa.org.mt/public-consultation. Representations are to be made in writing and sent through email address: xewkija.cnus@pa.org.mt. Submissions should reach the Authority by Friday 16 th December 2016. www.pa.org.mt PLANNING AUTHORITY Public Consultation Xewkija.indd 1 22/11/2016 13:42:20 Sliema palazzo on sale for €3.7 million But claims of approved hotel permits fall short of reality JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has turned down an application by Enemalta for the provision of electricity to the irregularly developed boathouses at Gnejna. Enemalta was proposing the dig- ging of a 200-metre trench from an existing car park to the boathouses. The case officer who recommend- ed the rejection of the application flagged five pending enforcement notices against "numerous boat- houses and beach rooms" in the area issued between 1997 and 2006. Moreover, two applications to reg- ularise the development presented in 2004 were both rejected by the Authority. Therefore according to the case officer the development in the area cannot be considered to be "legitimate" as it is thus in breach of the SPED, which requires develop- ment in rural areas to be "legitimate and necessary." The development was also op- posed by the Environment and Re- sources Authority, which insisted that the provision of electricity to "il- legal development" in a Natura 2000 site is of "significant environmental concern." Birgu mayor Gaffarena's ODZ PA: No to energy supply for Gnejna boathouses JAMES DEBONO THE Birgu local council will be meeting to discuss a proposal for the construction of an old people's home in a rural area, outside development zones, overlooking the scheduled parts of the Tal-Hawli valley in the vi- cinity of the Vittoriosa primary school. The application proposed by St Paul Residential Homes Lim- ited, a company owned by de- veloper Joseph Gaffarena, has been validated by the Planning Authority and issued for public consultation. Contacted by MaltaToday and asked whether he agrees, Birgu mayor John Boxall described the proposal as a double-edged sword. "Birgu has an ageing pop- ulation and needs a home for the elderly. On the other hand we are very concerned about the protection of the valley." While noting that the proposal Stately home: The Cloisters on Mrabat Street is being earmarked for a boutique hotel and apartment complex by the Bilom Group