An application has been filed with the planning authority to build a residential complex on the Villa Bonici estate in Sliema.

The site, close to the Forestals offices, now consists of fields and abandoned buildings, which the application says will be demolished to build a residential complex.

It is planned that 20 blocks will be built, a number of which rising to as high as 12 floors.

According to a development brief by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the Villa Bonici area must include some residential accommodation for the elderly, off-street parking spaces, a publicly-accessible garden and the provision of good public pedestrian links through the site to make public transport routes and other facilities more accessible. It also calls for the historic and architectural value of the land to be protected.

When contacted, developer Alfred di Petri said the development would "definitely" include all the things listed in the brief and would comply fully with the master plan for the area.

He said the aim of the project was to improve the area, keeping the development brief keenly in mind.

"There is no logical reason for this development to be objected to or rejected," he insisted.

In the brief, Mepa has assured it would not allow the piecemeal development of this site and would refuse any planning applications compromising the objectives of the brief.

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