The Siġġiewi local council and residents are objecting to plans to increase the size of a new social housing development which already proved controversial when first proposed and approved.

The development will take up 4,000 square metres of vacant agricultural land in a residential area on the edge of the Siġġiewi development zone, on Triq it-Tabib Nikol Zammit, Triq L-Imdina and Triq Dun Manwel Zammit.

The government first applied for a permit for the complex, to include apartments, maisonettes, penthouses, sheltered housing units for the elderly, in 2006.

The Planning Authority eventually gave the go-ahead in 2013 despite a number of objections over the loss of open space, as well as the density and disproportionate mass of the building.

Then, earlier this year, the government submitted a new application to increase the number of apartments to 84, reduce two parking spaces and add a substation.

Preparatory works on the site began in the last few days, and a hearing for the amended application is currently scheduled for August 11.

It will take up 4,000m2 of vacant agricultural land

The Siġġiewi local council is objecting to the changes due to the negative impact on the residential community in the area, which consists largely of two-storey terraced houses and, as of more recently, small-scale apartment blocks.

“The number of apartments and other facilities is massive, excessive and will have serious negative consequences for nearby residents’ quality of life,” the council said.

Several residents have written to the PA with their own objections, arguing the project was based on outdated social requirements and that the sudden introduction of so many new families “would overwhelm village life and the quiet residential area”.

Residents who spoke to the Times of Malta said the 107 planned parking spaces would in no way be enough to cope with the increased demand, with parking and traffic already a major problem in the area, particularly at the start and end of school days.

While the government has taken advantage of increased height limitations since the original proposal 11 years ago to add to the total number of apartments, residents said the proposed amendments made no provision for current living standards.

The complex has twice as many one-bedroom apartment (44 per cent) as would be allowed in a private development, and many do not have the 10 per cent outdoor space stipulated in modern recommendations, according to objectors.

“The general design of the development will also leave the blank party walls of neighbouring properties (which can further be developed to four floors and setback) fully exposed, not to mention that the bulk of apartments in the upper part of the project overlook the neighbouring properties in a way which was never envisaged in the original layout planning of the properties, eliminating privacy of the adjacent building,” residents said.

Concerns have also been raised about how local services will cope with the large-scale development.