The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has decided to file an appeal over the Planning Authority's controversial decision to give the go-ahead for a 38-storey tower in Sliema.

No appeal will be made over the four Mrieħel towers following the highly controversial green light given by the PA last month. 

The appeal will be filed before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.

In announcing the decision, ERA chairman Victor Axiak also published a memo on his personal opinion about the project, which he had prepared 24 hours prior to the meeting of the Planning Authority on August 4.

In his memo, he said that had he been able to attend, he would have voted  against both the Sliema and Mrieħel developments.

He said he had purposely refrained from making his personal opinions public in order to avoid undue public pressure on the individual ERA board members before they could reach their decision today.

Prof. Axiak had not attended the PA board meeting which decided the applications, because of ill health. The tower was approved by seven votes to six, meaning that had Prof. Axiak been present and voted against, the outcome would have been left in the hands of PA chairman Vince Cassar – who had opposed the project.

See his memo on pdf below.

In a statement, the Environment Authority said its board felt it had sufficient legal and substantive arguments to appeal the Sliema tower decision.

It also expressed concerns about the Mrieħel project but said it believes that an appeal would not be the the most appropriate tool to address them.

I have no doubt that had I the privilege of attending the PA meeting, I would have voted against both developments.- ERA chairman Victor Axiak

The authority said it is not, in principle, against high-rise buildings, as long as these developments take into full account the principles of sustainability.

"Nonetheless, ERA will also be taking other initiatives, including the submission of formal recommendations to the government, to ensure that such high-rise developments will be assessed within an improved comprehensive planning and environmental framework." 

Environment NGOs and Sliema local councils have also said they would appeal the PA decision.

The Sliema Townsquare complex will include 159 apartments, 4,700 square metres of offices, 10,000 square metres of retail space and 748 parking spaces.