The planning authority has turned down an application to demolish a building and replace it with a block of nine apartments in a Xemxija street characterised by detached and semi-detached houses dating back to the 1960s.

The proposed block, which had drawn strong objections from residents would be “an overdevelopment considering the character and context of the area,” the planning board said yesterday.

The existing building, in Simar Street, consists of four apartments. Like the rest of the buildings constructed in that era and neighbourhood, it is detached and only two storeys high. The plan was to replace it with a four-storey detached structure made up of eight apartments, a penthouse and semi-basement garages.

Over the years, other buildings were demolished around it and structures of differing levels have gone up. In October, the developer had argued the new plans fell in line with planning policies for the zone.

The planning board visited the site last month.

During yesterday’s hearing, it said the new plans did not conform to the character of the area, which had detached and semi-detached buildings in terrace form consonant with the site’s topography.

The board approved the change of use of three shops at The Point in Tigné into Class 6 catering outlets.