The Sliema council is not doing enough to protect the quality of life of its residents from the environmental problems caused by the large-scale projects in the area, Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Michael Briguglio said yesterday.

"The voice of Sliema residents needs to be heard... The Sliema council seems to be doing nothing about this," Mr Briguglio told a news conference, as he stood in front of the Townsquare project site. The project includes the construction of a shopping area, residential units, underground parking and an open square around Villa Drago on Tower Road.

The project developer recently submitted a series of changes to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, proposing that the tower on the site of the former Union Club be reduced to 23 storeys from 32 storeys. However, it was originally planned to be 15 storeys.

There will also be a new 15-storey block in an area originally earmarked for a four-storey block, while another area's height has increased from four to seven storeys.

"These changes are not sufficient to protect residents from pollution and traffic congestion in Sliema," said Mr Briguglio, a former Sliema local councillor.

"With the recent opening of The Point (shopping complex) in Tigné, getting to Sliema by car has already become a nightmare - let alone when the entire Midi project is completed together with Fort Cambridge and Townsquare," he said, pointing out that all these projects included high-rise residential towers.

He added that when the Townsquare project was initially launched, AD had backed it but only because a maximum 15-storey height had been established.

Now, studies commissioned by the developers showed that the development will cast its giant shadow on parts of the Qui-Si-Sana promenade, rocky foreshore and sea.