The proposed Townsquare high-rise development was within the parameters set by the planning authority, the director of the company behind the project said.

Andrew Ganado, director of Townsquare Sliema Ltd, yesterday insisted that the development respected the Floor Area Ratio policy.

He was reacting to a strongly worded statement by Victor Axiak, the chairman of the Environmental Resources Authority earlier this week, who said the ERA would be appealing the Planning Authority’s decision to approve the 38-storey tower.

In announcing the decision, Prof Axiak also published a memo containing his personal opinion about the project, which he had prepared 24 hours prior to the meeting of the PA on August 4.

In the memo, he had said that had he been able to attend, he would have voted against the development.

Townsquare and its consultants could only abide by current regulations

He had also said he had purposely refrained from making his personal opinions public in order to avoid undue public pressure on the individual ERA board members before they could reach their decision.

Prof. Axiak had not attended the PA board meeting, which decided the application, because of ill health. The tower was approved by seven votes to six, meaning that had Prof. Axiak been present and voted against, the outcome would have been left in the hands of PA chairman Vince Cassar – who had opposed the project.

Mr Ganado said that while Prof. Axiak “obviously” had the right to his personal opinion on the FAR policy in general, Townsquare and its consultants could only abide by the current regulations.

Mr. Ganado added that “lacking a crystal ball”, Townsquare could obviously only prepare the complex studies required for such a project, based on existing actual buildings and potential new buildings where a planning application was made up to the time of submission in 2015, and not on what may, or may not, exist in the future.

Mr Ganado said the FAR policy was originally established in 2006 and revised and approved in 2014 by the PA board, including the delegates of the two main political parties.

The Sliema Townsquare complex will include 159 apartments, 4,700 square metres of offices, 10,000 square metres of retail space and 748 parking spaces.