Mepa delays Sliema house demolition

Enforcement officers from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday stopped the demolition of an old Sliema house in Ghar il-Lembi Street, corner with High Street.

The house, which some claim to be baroque and one of Sliema's oldest, has been the subject of fierce controversy over whether it should be knocked down. The Development Control Commission within Mepa recently approved its demolition, to be replaced with new apartments.

A spokesman for Mepa told The Times that the developer had not presented the authority with a commencement notice which would have informed it that the demolition was to begin. This, the spokesman said, was in breach of a condition in the permit issued.

For months, the house has been the subject of a heated debate and a number of letters to The Times.

However, despite the interest in its conservation on the part of residents, readers and NGOs, the two-storey house is destined to be razed to the ground to construct basement garages, a shop and overlying apartments, including a penthouse.