Sliema has been a construction site for years but the present situation is unprecedented in scale, with construction taking place literally on every corner. The two towers planned for the Tigné area are to be viewed in this context.
I have tried to obtain statistics from the Planning Authority on the number of new dwellings erected in the past three years in Sliema and a forecast based on the current permits for the coming three years. I was curtly asked to address my query to the DOI.
Apparently the authority for planning is not aware of how much development is taking place.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) report on the 38-storey Townsquare development was an opportunity to evaluate the Environment Planning Statement.
Sadly, the report offers very little analysis and does not assess the impacts in the context of today’s realities.
Most of the report summarises previous reports rather than reassessing the conclusions and asking for updates, such as new traffic counts. According to the ERA, the impact of traffic which will be created is ‘negligible’.
The craziest aspect of the Townsquare application is that in 2007 the EPS concluded that a major negative impact would materialise from traffic, while in 2011 a revised EPS concluded the exact opposite. This conclusion is taken as gospel truth in 2016. Do these officials live in Malta? Have they ever commuted by car through Qui-Si-Sana?
The planned 40-storey hotel earmarked for Fort Cambridge in Tigné was not contemplated in the 2011 EPS. The developers of this hotel estimate an additional 1,527 vehicles per day. These figures are biased, as the reports are commissioned by the developers.
An obvious indication that they are flawed and unrealistic is that the Townsquare EPS says that the average speed along Qui-Si-Sana seafront is 30.6km/h. To reach that speed you need to have no cars or buses in front of you, which makes it a delusional estimate.
The Townsquare EPS estimates an increase of 4,241 car trips, so in total, the conservative estimate is that there will be an increase of 5,768 in daily car trips on the one-lane road of Qui-Si-Sana seafront. I remain incredulous at the lack of acknowledgement that it is in the interest of the developers to ensure that future owners can get to their abode without being stuck in traffic. The same goes for the tourists trying to get to their 40-floor hotel.
In typical stealth fashion a new law is currently being drafted by the Office of the Prime Minister which will enable illegal structures to be sanctioned
Viewing these developments in isolation runs contrary to the Floor Area Ratio Policy, which states that “where there are concurrent proposals for other tall buildings, or where others are likely to follow, the implications of these should be addressed as well” (Article 6.6). The Sliema local council will not accept a situation where this article is blatantly ignored.
One of the positive developments of the Mepa demerger is that councils can now appoint a representative in the case of major projects. The law does not clearly define what a major project is, but these two towers must constitute major projects, and the council expects to have a representative.
While all this development is being carried out, in typical stealth fashion a new law is currently being drafted by the Office of the Prime Minister which will enable illegal structures to be sanctioned. Called the Regularisation of Existing Development Regulations, the deadline for feedback is May 19. It is not intended for minor infringements, as the site built illegally can be as large as 10,000 square metres.
One dangerous precedent to be introduced by this law is that it may be used to sanction illegalities in urban conservation areas. Such zones in village cores were established by PN governments to protect historical and cultural assets and enrich our tourism product.
Government should ensure that such heritage is safeguarded and not introduce laws that sanction illegalities in UCAs.
The application to sanction an illegality will be assessed by an executive chairman, whose remit will be solely to assess these applications.
This manoeuvre to ensure that such applications go through an apposite fast tracking is rather suspect and leads one to believe that there will be political interference in such decisions.
The Labour government has time and again spoken of mistakes it will not repeat, yet Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri, who was supposed to start afresh and clean up the mess created by the Old Mint Street ‘quarter of a house’ requisition, has now come up with a law to render illegalities legal.
Far from learning from mistakes, we simply go from bad to worse under this government.
One hopes that Planning Authority officials will not be steamrolled by the new executive chairman. Similarly, planners are expected to question the developer’s consultants and weigh the concerns of residents.
Enough of perceptions and ‘negligible impacts traffic is a major problem which needs real solutions, such as a metro. Towers with a combined 82 floors in one-lane residential roads will spell disaster.
paul.radmilli@gov.mt
Paul Radmilli is a Nationalist Party local councillor for Sliema.