The reviewed planning policy for the Ta’ Masrija area is a “dark day” and an “ugly precedent” for Mellieħa, according to former mayor and MP Robert Cutajar.
“Mepa has caved in to pressure and ignored residents’ interests,” Mr Cutajar told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“Mellieħa has unique characteristics which must be protected – and these characteristics do not include seven-storey buildings.”
Last Thursday, the planning authority approved a partial review of the 2006 policy for the area, which it said currently lay derelict.
The review, which has met with opposition from residents, prohibits the adoption of the floor-area-ratio policy on site – a policy that could have resulted in high buildings towering over the ridge.
However, the review also permits heights along Ta’ Masrija Street of four and five floors with increased heights of up to seven in other parts of the site.
Residents have argued that the height restrictions should be identical to the surrounding area, which is characterised by two to three storey buildings, and express concern about overshadowing from taller buildings.
It was this or going back to the drawing board
Mr Cutajar said yesterday that Mepa had already committed not to apply the floor-to-area ratio policy in correspondence with residents and the local council dating back to 2007.
The correspondence also shows that Mepa was inclined to maintain the existing height restrictions in the area.
Mr Cutajar questioned why the current local council had changed stance on the review since 2012, when the council unanimously expressed its opposition in an official letter sent to Mepa.
He stressed that his own opposition had been consistent from 2007 to date.
The letter states that a reduction from 13 to eight storeys is not sufficient to safeguard residents’ interests, among other concerns including parking and public spaces between the proposed blocks.
Mellieħa vice-mayor Clayton Bartolo, however, said that the majority of issues raised by the council in 2012 had been sufficiently resolved in the new policy.
He stressed that the seven-storey buildings would not be fully visible from most areas, pointing to a 21m height disparity between Louis Wettinger Street and Ta’ Masrija Street.
Mr Bartolo conceded, however, that a rejected amendment to minimise visual impact by imposing “real” stepping – reducing building height towards the front of the ridge – would have improved the policy.
He also said overshadowing would no longer be an issue, as the taller buildings would only be located in what is currently a disused quarry.
“It was this or going back to the drawing board – a compromise had to be reached. I understand the residents’ concerns but at the same time it’s important to keep in mind the point we started from.”