Mepa this morning approved an application by Bank of Valletta for alternations to the House of the Four Winds at Hastings Garden in Valletta, which will house the chairman's office.
The bank is moving to the House of the Four Winds after having had to vacate offices in South Street, Valletta, which were demolished to create a new square almost opposite Our Lady of Victories Church. The square is part of the City Gate/Open theatre project.
The most significant aspect of the new design is that the structure is being moved away from the bastion wall – by at least 3m – freeing up 44m of fortifications which had previously been buried beneath the building. The bank will also reinstate the part of the bastion wall which had been removed to make way for a balcony. This will greatly improve the view of the bastion from Great Siege Road, as the present building was the only one actually built onto the fortifications along Marsamxett.
The new design also uses different heights for the different wings to ensure that it blends in better against the considerably higher buildings behind it.
The bank will also allocate part of the site to a piazza at the end of Windmill Street, which will have as its main feature the remains of the column dedicated to former Governor Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby. The column was destroyed when it was struck by lightning. The bank has offered to restore the remains of the column.
The wall which separates the site from Hastings Garden will also be removed, opening up the views.
“The bank is very proud to be associated with a project which will result in such an enhancement of the capital city after which it is named,” BoV Chief Executive Office Charles Borg said.
DECISION ON FORESTALS SITE DEVELOPMENT PUT OFF
Meanwhile, Mepa this morning put off a decision on whether or not to grant a permit for a major development on the Forestals site on the Gzira/Sliema strand in order to give the Heritage Planning Unit time to consider the recent discovery of a large reservoir on the site.
Mepa was informed of the discovery last week.
The developers are proposing to demolish the existing commercial premises and instead build 63 residential units, a number of commercial outlets and car parking facilities.