The Lija local council and aggrieved residents have filed an appeal against the decision to grant a permit for a five-storey apartment block in a quiet area currently characterised by low-lying villas.

The Planning Authority gave the go-ahead in July on the strength of the area’s local plan, which allows applications for buildings of that height to proceed, despite the protests of residents and NGOs.

READ: Uproar as PA gives green light to Lija apartments

Residents have argued that the development, including 27 apartments over four floors as well as penthouses, will forever alter the character of the area and strain local infrastructure, cramming a residential population equivalent to the entirety of the town into two new blocks.

Developments with such a high density are unsustainable in this context

The proposed block is in the heart of a residential Lija street bordering Balzan, characterised by lines of uniform terraced houses and opposite a designated villa and bungalow area, with no existing buildings higher than two storeys.

In a statement, the Lija local council said it was also disappointed that it had not been properly consulted back in 2006 when sweeping amendments to the local plan had been introduced.

The council added that the PA’s own design guidelines document, introduced last year, clearly opposed the sort of ‘sore thumb’ development among homogenous streetscapes, represented by the proposed apartment block.

Heritage NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa was among a number of organisations to object. The group said the apartment block is not in line with the characteristics of the  area, and misused new building heights to pack in five floors.

“Developments with such a high density are unsustainable in this context, where 27 flats are proposed in the space previously occupied by two houses, and over-stretches the capacity of the road network and parking spaces of the area,” the NGO said.