Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/773562
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 12 News Luqa council protests plan for 250-unit project Six-storey block to sprout over St Julian's guesthouse JAMES DEBONO A vast tract of undeveloped fields in the vicinity of the Luqa state school has been earmarked for residential development consist- ing of 35 maisonettes, 187 apart- ments and 47 penthouses. The development is being pro- posed in five separate applica- tions presented by GAP Limited, in an undeveloped area within development zones. Luqa local councillors, led by the mayor, have already writ- ten to the Planning Authority to voice concerns on these applica- tions. "Such a large scale development will be removing one of the last rural areas in the locality," the council warned. "Our locality – surrounded by industrial areas and the Airport – lacks open spaces that could be utilized for recreational pur- poses." The council is not categorically opposing any development in the area but is calling for "landscap- ing and embellishment of the area." The council has also called on the Planning Authority to assess the five different applications as one, insisting that a project of such magnitude normally re- quires an EIA (environmental impact assessment). "The development has been divided into four separate appli- cations for which the Authority may not request such a report," the council warned. The council also expressed con- cern that the development may interfere with the way water is channelled in the surrounding streets, possibly leading to flood- ing problems. The site is not protected by any designation and is often subject- ed to littering. But it is also con- sidered by residents as a lung for the densely populated area. GAP Limited is currently de- veloping 152 apartments in Tal- Masrija in Mellieha. A subsidiary of the same company also wants to develop an old people's home in an ODZ (outside development zones) area in Naxxar. JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has dis- regarded the advice of the Super- intendence for Cultural Heritage to approve the demolition of the two-storey Casa Pinto guesthouse in Sacred Heart Street, St Julian's, and its replacement by a six-sto- rey block with penthouse. The development proposes the demolition of the building, retain- ing the facade, and the construc- tion of apartments over six floors and underlying garages. The proposed redesign of the ex- isting facade will see the removal of the characteristic balustrades on the old facade. The new exten- sion will be constructed with new materials and in a modern archi- tectural style, which includes the use of steel columns and white aluminium windows. The development, proposed by Alan Bonnici of AXT Properties, encroaches on the gardens of the former guesthouse and will be ac- cessed from Birkirkara Road. According to the Superintend- ence the property dates to the early 20th century. "Although the streetscape has a number of poor- ly designed new developments, it still retains some significant build- ings, including the Convent and School of the Sacred Heart." The Superintendence insisted that the design of the building does not respect "the architec- tural grammar of the existing fa- çade" and the proposed extension is considered "extraneous and disconnected from the rest of the streetscape". In its recommendation the Su- perintendence had called on the developers to respect the existing heights of the adjacent property, and to retain the balustrades in the existing facade. In the absence of such a rede- sign the Superintendence rec- ommended that this application should be refused. The case officer agreed and recommended the development for refusal but this recommenda- tion was overturned by the Envi- ronment Planning Commission which argued that the proposal was in line with policies and that the site does not lie within the Ur- ban Conservation Area.