Does Mepa have faith in its own planning?

The Times of May 22 carried an impassioned appeal to Mepa by Margaret Camilleri-Pace to save the house Springfield, corner of St Margerita Street with Melita Street, Sliema. Anyone who saw the lovely photo provided by The Times would not fail to note the importance of this house. Indeed, Mepa itself has recognised this in its own plans for Sliema.

The whole area has been designated by the North Harbour Local Plan as a "Category A" area, which means it is in an area recognised for its unique and irreplaceable ambience, with "High Streetscape Value". Both of the streets meeting on this corner are Category A streets.

The Plan clearly shows that not only is the whole area within an Urban Conservation Area, but for this reason, the height of buildings in this area is not to exceed more than two floors, with a third laid back at roof level. The application for the guesthouse submitted barely a month ago, is for four floors with an additional penthouse as well as a basement. Though the façade is supposedly to be retained, this overdevelopment will clearly put the façade at risk, as well as jeopardising the integrity of the streetscape, and the house itself.

The house faces one of the few scheduled blocks in Sliema. A number of the units in the scheduled block have recently had new residents. These people purchased the properties because they valued the conservation efforts of Mepa and the policy that would protect the architectural heritage. They were ready to submit to regulations that were inconvenient, such as restrictions on alteration to the houses and apartments; no fixtures on the outside wall such as air conditioners, burglar alarms and others, because of the residents' appreciation of the historic urban legacy.

Now Mepa has allowed an application for a three-star guest house, a commercial venture, with an application also for a restaurant and a bar, in this highly residential area. In doing this, it has accepted an application in complete violation of its own North Harbour Local Plan, issued merely six years ago in 2000. The application is also in breach of the Structure Plan, BEN 1, which specifies that development is not permitted if the proposal is to have a deleterious impact on the neighbourhood. This includes visual intrusion, noise, operating times, unusual high traffic generation (such as with taxis or coaches dropping off guests), unusual operating times (such as for a bar or night reception desk), and anything else which might be considered "bad neighbourliness".

Mepa has a serious credibility crisis. It issues principled Structure and Local Plans and then completely disregards its own principles. In doing so, it shows little respect for the very environment it is meant to protect, and even less for the people who live in it.

Now is the chance for the Mepa board members to refuse this application as it stands. They can show that they believe in the principles which underpin the plans the authority itself has drawn up. They can also show that they are sensitive to the appeal of the many Maltese people who wish, firstly, to protect their architectural heritage and, secondly, to simply live in peace. This is where Mepa can really make a difference.