PA defers decision on 15-floor Sliema hotel which is recommended for approval

The planning authority on Thursday postponed a decision about a 15-storey hotel on the Sliema seafront, asking developer Carlo Stivala to remove two rooms from the proposal to reduce its impact on the Urban Conservation Area.

The proposal, part of which would be inside Sliema’s urban conservation area, has been recommended for approval by the case officer.

Located on the corner of Triq Ix-Xatt and Triq San Vincenz, the application consists of the demolition of existing internal structures, keeping the majority of the existing facades and redeveloping the property into a three-star hotel. 

The proposal includes 75 guest rooms, a restaurant, a bar, ancillary offices, meeting and conference rooms and a pool plus deck on a receded floor. 

Ian Cutajar, the project’s architect, said the application conformed with the North Harbour local plan and approved height limitations. He argued that the hotel would be in harmony with the surrounding context. A third-party wall would be "treated to minimise its impact on the streetscape", he said. 

The application has received a large number of objections, mostly related to the size of the proposed hotel when compared to the mostly three-floor residential buildings on Triq San Vincenz. 

Charles Anthony Falzon from the Sliema Residents Association said that the area’s carrying capacity was not being given enough consideration.  

“We are now beyond acceptable levels of population density,” he said. 

Astrid Vella from environmental NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said the proposed hotel would “strangle” the area and deprive homes on Triq San Vincenz of sunlight.  

Explaining the recommendation for approval, the application’s case officer said the project had received the green light from Transport Malta, Enemalta, the Water Services Corporation, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Environmental Health Directorate.  

Part of the proposed hotel would be inside Sliema’s urban conservation area.

The PA’s board opted to defer a vote on the proposal, after advising the project’s architect to remove two rooms to reduce the impact on the UCA.  

The application is separate from another nearby 15-storey hotel - PA/03229/23 - proposed by the same developer, this time on the corner of Triq Ix-Xatt and Triq il-Lunzjata.

This application was also recommended for approval in January.