Sliema residents insist on height limitation policy review
‘ It is high time to review the policy or its interpretation’
Sliema residents are calling for the review of a planning policy on the height limitation of buildings, which they say, has been “wilfully misinterpreted” as a right to develop for years.
“Sliema air is polluted, the power supply fluctuates, drains overflow, roads are jammed and frequently closed, parking is lacking… and it is still getting worse,” the Sliema Residents’ Association said, calling for action to contain the “suffocating rate of development”.
It said modern apartments being built were very energy dependent and lacked water reservoirs, unlike the shady houses and gardens they replaced.
“Sliema development is already unsustainable with over 25 per cent of the properties empty. The low lying buildings of 1940s Sliema housed about 24,000 while now, despite so many houses being converted to flats, the population is only about 13,000. Was there a real need to raise building heights and despoil the former design,” the residents wondered.
The association said, despite the 186-page North Harbour Local Plan, the height policy seemed to be the only one of interest to architects and developers. Since 2008, when the local plan could be amended, there had been a formal request to change the height policy but this had been “bounced between the Office of the Prime Minister and Mepa”.
“It is high time to review the policy – or its interpretation... Mepa reform cannot come too soon but it may well come too late for most of Sliema unless strategic action is taken to prevent further harm,” the association said