Plans to demolish a 19th century Sliema townhouse and replace it with a 3-star hotel have been slammed by an architectural historian. 

Edward Said highlighted the planning application for 142 & 143, St Mary Street, Sliema in a post to a Facebook group dedicated to Malta's "daft and ugly architectural mishaps". 

Photo: FacebookPhoto: Facebook

"Yet more of our country's national identity to be destroyed in the name of 'progress'?", Mr Said posted in 'Malta's Architectural Carbuncles'.

The planning application, filed by Charles Ellul on 29 March 2016, was validated on 20 July. Representations for and against the planning application can be filed until 5 September. 

Mr Said has been a vociferous critic of developers' predilection for destroying old buildings and replacing them with new ones, having previously called the practice "architectural heritage apartheid."

He is not the only one concerned. Just last week, Sliema local council members warned that the town was being faced with an "uncivilised level of barbarism", with at least nine proposed developments seeking to transform existing buildings into guesthouses. 

While architecturally significant, many traditional townhouses are not scheduled, meaning developers are often not obliged even to retain the façades.

Recent changes in planning procedures have made it even harder to protect characteristic buildings outside the urban conservation area, with a new 'summary procedure' doing away with the need for a public hearing and case officer report for applications to build up to 16 apartments. 

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