More construction work for fed-up Sliema residents

Andre` Vella

Aug 6th 2012, 09:07

You get what you vote for....simple.

F. Pisani

Aug 6th 2012, 08:51

I have been working in this area in the last month and I can assure you the street is a complete mess! And knowing the area that well the first thing I can say is that the street is very narrow, and don’t be fooled by the photograph, the street is very narrow so a building that high will reduce the lack of sunlight that is already an issue in this street. this will obviously increase the problem of air circulation, air pollution, lack of parking spaces etc etc. one but has to take into consideration that in this street there are builds which already is above the limit the so not approving the application will only result in a discrimination to the developer. So who is right and who is wrong?

Joe Grech

Aug 6th 2012, 01:53

Doesn't the article above say the project "involves the demolition of the structure, while keeping the facades," - I don't see any facades kept in the street above - MEPA please note and take action!

In answer to the question below, according to the MEPA website, the board that granted these permits is Environment Planning Board A: The EPC (Division A) is currently composed as follows:

Perit Sandra Magro

Appointed Committee Members are:

Perit Elizabeth Ellul

Perit Claude Borg

Dr. John Mangion

Perit Fleur Ebejer

Residents be aware of your rights that in the afternoon between 2 - 4pm the workers can only do quiet work, nothing noisy. If this is not obeyed, phone the police station and do not be taken in if they tell you that work can go on uninterrupted from 7am to 8pm. This is in the Development Act of 2007 - make a note of it. THIS IS THE LAW - THIS IS YOUR RIGHT!

C Micallef

Aug 5th 2012, 21:32

This area is a mess and in all honesty the authourities don't really care. The SLC does try to assist but their powers are limited. Here is an insight of a typical day of residents in this area. Woken up at 6.30 every morning to the loud voices and machinery of the workers. Cars blocked by their Vehicles - sometimes roads blocked illegally. Continuous noise and dust throughout the day. Return from work and nowhere to park. A Mercieca street is like a war zone and blocked by a crane. In Don Rua Street a constructor has managed to get reserved parking for his vehicles - very convenient for the workers to park themselves when they arrive..... and when a space is available they move their car. Here are a few suggestions that would improve the area. 1) Residents parking 2) MEPA to stick to height limitation in the area (is it possible to know the board members who gave the permit when a recomendation to refuse by the case officer 3) Regular checks by the authority to make sure that the workers abide by the law and dust control 4) If parking is given for construction it is given from 08.00 and not 07.00 in the morning. 5) Construction to commence at a decent time - 08.00 am... or at least noisy work to start at 08.00 6) Saturday work to terminate by 13.00 hrs........ Oh how I look forward for the PN canditates to visit me prior to the election... If they wish to contact me before I'm very much available...

Robert Pace Bonello

Aug 5th 2012, 19:16

Will the Authorities give the residents of St Paul street an indication which year this street will reopen. It has now been closed for at at least 5 years - how much longer does the contractor need to finish this relatively small development?

Robert Pace Bonello

Aug 5th 2012, 18:34

Will the Authorities give the residents of St Paul street an indication which year this street will reopen. It has now been closed for at at least 5 years - how much longer does the contractor need to finish this relatively small development?

Mr Paul Pace

Aug 5th 2012, 18:00

Sliema residents sell their property to developers (at a profit, I guess) and then expect MEPA, the Government or some NGO to stop developers from obtaining building permits.

vella m

Aug 5th 2012, 16:56

Very nice street.

C Busuttil

Aug 5th 2012, 16:54

Sir Arturo Mercieca better known as New street is worst now than after World War II.

If an another permit has been issued the Commissioner of Police should investigate when it was the same organization that had said it was not acceptable.

Sliema does not further appartments, the once that have been built are hardly occupied and the town cannot sustain further development

Marius Zulgis

Aug 5th 2012, 16:30

A quick note to those who say people grumble until they sell their houses for €€€. You're missing the point, which is, as clearly stated in the article, "the construction is just one of several in a 200-metre stretch in Sir Arturo Mercieca Street".

The residents are grumbling because of SEVERAL simultaneous developments. If these works were carried out in a structured manner with a semblance of order (i.e. one project at a time) as opposed to the current chaos, perhaps they wouldn't be complaining.

Try reading the article and getting the gist of what it is trying to convey before posting such banal comments which merely seem aimed at inflaming the situation rather than offering sympathy or a solution. Perhaps you need to spend some time living in an area full of building sites to see exactly how it feels before rabbiting inanely.

Marthese Mussett

Aug 5th 2012, 16:17

The same has been happening in Swieqi these past few years.

J Galea

Aug 5th 2012, 16:08

Why do we have development plans if mepa is the first to undermine them?

Ms.D. Galea

Aug 5th 2012, 15:39

I bet that the ''fed up'' residents will not bat an eyelid and think twice if good offers were made to them to sell THEIR own properties for a good profit.

Paul Smith

Aug 5th 2012, 15:15

Looks like a street in a 3rd world country

oh, it is

E. Azzopardi

Aug 5th 2012, 14:57

Sliema residents are utterly fed up, but really fed up. What do we want more apartments for, when we have thousands and thousands of empty ones. Enforce a tax on empty property, like they do in Europe, which we are so proud of making a part of. But I suppose this will cost us votes. " The national interest comes first". remember?
I remember the PN saying that the PL was ruining Sliema, when this started. How about the last 25 years?

j brincat

Aug 5th 2012, 14:25

@Nazzareno Borg

"Unfortunately I do not, even for a second, believe that things will get any better under a Labour administration"


But for your political convenience you are jumping into conclusions!

Give peace a chance. Vote PL this time round which should be much safer than voting the same old GonziPN with his 101 unkpept promises and all!






(jb)

.

j brincat

Aug 5th 2012, 14:23

This time round the Slimizi have to vote with their minds!



(jb)

R. Cilia

Aug 5th 2012, 14:16

Nice street!

Rod Enderby

Aug 5th 2012, 14:03

All this building when there are nearly sixty thousand empty properties in the Islands and a world recession! When will the proverbial penny drop?!

John Azzopoardi

Aug 5th 2012, 13:34

I am still shocked that MEPA and the government allowed Sliema residential areas to build beyond 2-3 stories. This is a big shame for Malta for changing the charactor of the town when 5, 6, 7, 8 or more story buildings are not needed as Malta has thousands of empty flats/appartments.

Dennis Zammit

Aug 5th 2012, 13:08

These Sliema Residents grumble until THEY SELL their house for EUR 0000000s. Had they kept their homes, all these developments wouldn't happen.

Maybe their grumbling is because they didn't have any offers for their house!

m. borg (slm)

Aug 5th 2012, 13:05

Serves the SLIMIZI right , they keep voting for those who don't give a shot about Sliema.

You reap what you sow.

Bring on the construction speculators.

Ms Sandra Grech

Aug 5th 2012, 12:43

How scruffy it all looks

william cauchi

Aug 5th 2012, 12:31

Look at the surface of that road. And ten thousand other roads in Malta.

I am sure that in Zimbabwe the road surface is not so different.

Smart, modern Malta in the year 2012. Don't make us laugh. Malta looks like somebody wearing a nice suit and wearing grubby, dirty shoes falling to pieces. Isthu politicians.

Elvin Muscat

Aug 5th 2012, 11:59

I pity Sliema residents with cranes blocking most streets, one can hardly get out of the area without being blocked up by cranes, vans with unruly salesmen, rude truck drivers, garbage trucks and the rest of the mayhem. Its very often fights flare as most drivers get frustrated driving around in circles looking for a place to park or simply get on with their daily routine.

mario genovese

Aug 5th 2012, 11:41

Sliema council is eithe snoozing or otherwise the authorities are takin the mick out of everyone.
In Censu Xerri Street residentshave to bear a strong foul drainage smell of which SLC was informed, yet weeks later nothing has been done to investigate and hopefuly to remedy - perhaps another RJ saga

Anthony Portelli

Aug 5th 2012, 11:20

mepa, grab a couple of civil engineers, if you have any ,and send them abroad to a civilised country, so they can visit the buildings department and learn about Zoning.
Yes, residential, commercial and mixed.
The same people with money, read debt to the banks,get a property in a plush area, demolish and build those ugly flats.
Maltese people dont want theses coops, but foreigners , some of them with money from dubious source, are ready to part with the cash to have a legit way into the country, and then rent out these flats to other foreigners.
I couldnt count the number of streets that are closed because of cranes..and that in sliema, aroud Dingli street and sidestreets alone.
Money talks, walks and dances they say, but in Malta it does a lot more.
In St Julians a large protrusion into the main road has been there for a long time jutting out. Bendy buses pass either way as it is the main road, but the danger and chaos has to be seen to be believed.
more later...

Pippo De Marco

Aug 5th 2012, 10:43

If the authority case officer recommended that this development application should be rejected because, inter alia, it does not comply with existing rules on height etc, then how can this have ever been approved? (rhetorical question).

Gonzi brought Mepa under the OPM, so Gonzi should explain how this happened. Perhaps the Sliema residents will ask him when he comes begging for votes? - I certainly hope so.

T Camilleri

Aug 5th 2012, 10:20

Same here in Attard. Construction, cranes, dust and sand everywhere!!

James McIntosh

Aug 5th 2012, 10:03

The election is coming, make sure that the present sitting tenants are evicted and new blood replaces them. The present set of leeches believe that they can do no wrong, prove to them that YOU have the power and exercise it. A new MP cannot possibly make a worse job than most of the present ones, sack them at the election and focus their attention that they cannot keep treating people as if they did not exist. Power to the discerning voter.

Carmel Ellul

Aug 5th 2012, 09:50

Look at the photo, the so called developers , took over the pavement , in this narrowest part of Dingli street , closed up the excavated area and went home.
Even worse at Dingli circus , another huge development ,the developers took more than the pavement , cars have to park against the temporary , for the next year or so , brick wall and pedestrians with children and push chairs literary are in the middle of the road.
Where is MEPA , Sliema Council , Transport Malta , and yes you can still reserve a parking place using an old dilapidated bike , parked in the middle of a parking bay in Melita street.