Paceville is set to be transformed into a “quality” business hub as the planning authority opens a consultation for partial revision of the local plan.
The area under consideration covers the stretch from the Pembroke football ground to St George’s Bay and all the way to Portomaso.
The partial review of the local plan was requested by the government and the brief given to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority was to draft general policies to “encourage and guide” investment by the private and public sectors “on land and at sea”.
The objectives include designating the zone as the “Paceville business hub urban regeneration priority area”, giving precedence to “quality business-use development, particularly tourism”.
The brief also calls for identifying specific sites with opportunities for development and provide a strategy for tall buildings.
Mepa will also identify shortfalls in the local infrastructure and make proposals for its provision and location.
Another aspect is the protection and enhancement of important natural and cultural environmental assets.
The revision of the North Harbours local plan comes at a time of renewed interest in the area from investors.
The objectives include designating the zone as the Paceville business hub regeneration priority area
Hotel chain Corinthia, which has taken over the Island Hotels Group, is planning a €400 million six-star resort on the sites of the San Ġorġ and Radisson hotels. Developer Anton Camilleri is expected to transform Villa Rosa and the adjacent grounds into a mixed-use project, while another major development is St George’s Park, on the Cresta Quay side of St George’s Bay.
None of these three projects have yet filed planning applications, but developers are already talking to Mepa.
These projects are expected to complement the quality office space and luxury apartments introduced to the Paceville area over the past decade by the Portomaso and Pender Gardens developments.
The expected flurry of development in Paceville, a prime tourist and entertainment hub, prompted the government to establish the St George’s Bay Regeneration Corporation, a public-private partnership, to facilitate and coordinate works on the major projects.
But the government is also expected to free up the space currently occupied by the Institute of Tourism Studies by offering the site to the private sector for tourism-related investment. The tourism school will eventually shift to a new €56 million campus that will be built at Smart City.
The public consultation on the revision of the local plan opened on December 18, and submissions will be received until January 8.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com