Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/767061
maltatoday, SATURDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2016 10 HIGHRISE development is often seen as a panacea for Malta's small size, where the only way forward for the construction industry is to go up instead of sprawling over virgin land. There is some logic in this thinking. For the Floor Area Ratio mecha- nism is based on the concept of creating new public plazas around the new towers, which provide a new opportunity for urban regeneration. Yet as clearly seen in the negative reac- tion to both the approved Sliema tower and to the proposed Paceville masterplan, this may border on a top down approach to planning which ignores the social fab- ric on which the new towers are imposed. Moreover demand for high rise depends on Malta's fortunes in gaming and the fi- nancial industry sector to the extent that Chris Grech, director of Dhalia has warned in an interview with MaltaToday, that in the absence of a strong push to attract rich foreigners, the high rise revolution risks crushing the property market. Moreover with construction in full swing in several towns like Sliema, where it has been facilitated by new design guidelines which permit extra storeys and a more liberal so-called contextual approach to urban conservation areas, it is difficult to see high-rise development as an alternative to medium rise development. Moreover with traffic congestion reaching an all time crush, residents are wary of massive devel- opments which attract even more cars. Moreover neither is high-rise develop- ment seen as an alternative to rural devel- opment. For Malta still suffers the legacy left by the 2006 rationalization while new opportunities have been created by the 2015 rural policy which even permits the rebuilding of long demolished old build- ings sometimes dating back to more than 30 years ago. The high-rise is already here Malta already has eight tall buildings of 10 storeys or higher in place, with six more approved but yet to be built, and seven more awaiting the PA's green light. Malta's tallest building is the Portomaso tower, approved in the mid-90s, pipping the 14-storey Preluna Hotel in Sliema for the accolade of highest building. Even be- fore approving the masterplan for Paceville the PA has approved an 11-storey tower just next to it, without compensating it with any new open space. Seven other high-rise were approved and built without any policy regulating tall buildings: Fort Cambridge, the A3 Tow- ers in Paola, two towers at Tigné Point, the Fortina hotel in Tigné and the Inter- continental Hotel in St Julian's and Pender Gardens. Also approved but yet to be construct- ed are the 33-storey Metropolis tower in Gzira, the controversial 12-storey Mistra Heights and a 16 storey tower in Gzira, which was the first to be approved under the new policy and over which the devel- opers now want an additional eight sto- reys. Added to these were the 38-storey tower near Villa Drago in Sliema and the 4-tower cluster in Mriehel. Both develop- ments are now facing an appeal by NGOs and in the case of the Sliema tower also by the Environment and Resources Authority, and the local council. In 2015 the Planning Authority desig- nated Tigné, Qawra, Marsa, Gzira and Mriehel as localities where over-10 storey developments can take place. Marsaskala and St Paul's Bay were also identified for medium rise development where 6 to 8 storey developments can take place. The PA's midsummer decisions During a marathon session marked by the absence of ERA chairman Victor Ax- iak who was recovering from surgery, the Planning Authority controversially ap- proved both the 38 storey tower in Sliema by seven votes against six and the Mriehel towers by 11 votes against two. Since PA chairman Vince Cassar, who holds the casting vote in case of a draw, was against the Sliema project, Axiak's presence would have effectively killed the Sliema applica- tion. This is because Axiak had declared himself against both projects in a memo sent to fellow board member Timmy Gam- bin who chose only to read the part dealing with the Mriehel tower. Controversy on the four cylindrical tower blocks, comprising 14, 16, 17 and 19 sto- reys, proposed in Mriehel by the Tumas and Gasan groups largely focused on the way this locality was designated as a high- rise zone directly by the government after the closure of the public consultation. The project was also approved before the ap- proval of a masterplan for the Mriehel area. Further controversy was generated by the fact that the project was approved despite evidence that the visuals contained in the EIA consisted of photos taken by a wide angle, which failed to show the full impact of the project on long distance views like those from Valletta towards Mdina. But in the absence of a residential com- munity opposing the idea, the decision on Mriehel was bound to create far less con- troversy than that on the Sliema Towns- quare project, which promised four long years of intensive construction activity in a residential area. Approval of the Sliema project was more politically toxic. Although the tower will be located in a Nationalist-leaning district, Sliema is also home to hundreds of float- ing voters whose resentment may increase with approval of the project. 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 res- toration of Villa Drago. The case officer acknowledged that the project will break the Sliema skyline but said the PA's policy on tall buildings ap- proved in 2014 now identifies the Tigné area as "a cluster of tall buildings." The project's environmental impact as- sessment said it expected residents in the area to keep windows shut to minimize noise during the excavation, which will take 10 months, and construction, which will take four years. The developers' reaction to these con- cerns has been anything but emphatic. When asked whether he would offer resi- 2016: Looking back Is the government getting cold feet on high-rise? 2016 saw the Planning Authority approving two high-rise developments in Tigné and Mriehel and proposing a policy for Paceville for 20 more towers. But has the resulting controversy made high-rise politically toxic as evidenced by deputy PM Louis Grech's suggestion that the Paceville masterplan should go back to the drawing board? JAMES DEBONO Townsquare director John Soler. When asked whether he would offer residents compensation, Soler replied: "I never received compensation when people were building all around my property." A masterplan, for whom? Paceville angers all and sundry as top-down gentrification and planning gets the better of Malta's planning authority DEBONO