The consultants working on the Paceville master plan were given a free hand and nobody interfered in their reasoning, the Planning Authority said yesterday.

Defending the blueprint, which a number of NGOs, politicians and residents have slammed, even claiming “illegalities” in certain instances, a spokesman said the PA wanted an outsider's perspective and an ideal picture of what was required for the transformation of Paceville into a prime coastal location.

Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola last month flagged a number of “illegalities” in the master plan. He said that these included proposed developments within 15 metres of the foreshore, which was considered to be public domain.

Prof. Cassola and various NGOs have also pointed out that the master plan referred to low-rise buildings as not exceeding 15 storeys, while Maltese law defined a low-rise building as standing no higher than 10 storeys.

Asked by the Times of Malta how the PA allowed the publication of a master plan that contained illegalities, the spokesman said there were a number of development proposals that were still at “conceptual stage”. Thus, he added, it would be premature to argue that the 15-metre foreshore limit had been ignored, “as this is a detail which would need to be addressed at a later stage in the design of the proposals”.

The spokesman said that the important criteria at this conceptual stage were the gross developable floor space and its distribution by land use.

The plan showed an “adequate” setback of the development from the shoreline, the spokesman argued, with the exception being the proposed land reclamation.

Extensive land reclamation is being proposed off Portomaso, in an area adjacent to a marine conservation area.

The spokesman said such land reclamation was a national development proposal that would need to be addressed through the provisions of the Public Domain Act.

On the classification of low-rise buildings in the plan, the spokesman said the current definitions and requirements applied at a national level.

“The tall buildings strategy for Paceville has been developed to address the specific requirements of this zone and has proposed a different approach to the height classification of tall buildings.

“This certainly does not make the plan as published illegal,” the spokesman said.

He said that the role of the Planning Authority in the formulation of the master plan was to ensure that the proposals did not run counter to the overall strategic direction provided by the government and that the requirements in the terms of reference and the obligations spelled out in the agreement with the consultants were fulfilled.

Residents in the area were particularly enraged by the lack of consultation prior to the publication of the master plan.

One of the options set out in the plan calls for the expropriation of a number of private properties, including the St George’s residential complex, home to 400 residents.

Residents and NGOs have also argued that certain properties were being expropriated to be handed over to private developers, which they deemed illegal.

A protest against the master plan will be held in Spinola today.

 

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