Appeals filed against the Townsquare high-rise project have been approved by the Planning Authority's appeals tribunal.
The decision was taken by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal at a sitting this afternoon.
Appeals against the 38-storey Townsquare tower in Tigné, approved by the PA last August, have been filed by environmental organisations, the Sliema local council, and the Environment and Resources Authority.
"This is a victory for civil society. The tribunal has ruled once and for all that NGOs have a right to appeal under the new law," Malcolm Mifsud, lawyer for Din l-Art Ħelwa told reporters.
It would make no sense to offer us the chance to sit on the PA board for big decisions and then eliminate the possibility of appeal
Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop said: "We were convinced this would be the correct decision; it would make no sense to offer us the chance to sit on the PA board for big decisions and then eliminate the possibility of appeal.
“Now it's in the hands of our legal consultants for the next step,” he added, reiterating that the basis of the council's appeal were a number of flaws and shortcomings by the PA in the process of approving the application.
The Planning Authority had argued that there was no right to appeal the board's decision since they had been represented on the authority when the major project was considered.
The planned tower will include 159 apartments, 4,700 square metres of offices, 10,000 square metres of retail space and 748 parking spaces. The project will include the restoration of the nearby Villa Drago.
Din l-Art Ħelwa, among others, had said it believed this over-sized development would have a devastating effect on the Maltese landscape and the daily lives of many people.
The appeal was also filed by Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth, Ramblers Association, and the Qui-si-Sana residents' association.
The NGOs have also filed an appeal against the Mrieħel Towers development, approved by the PA on the same day as Townsquare.
The NGOs and Sliema council both voted against the development through their representative on the PA board.
While ERA chairman Victor Axiak, who had expressed his opposition to the development, is also a member of the PA board, he was not present for the crucial hearing which granted the permit, due to serious illness. The high-rise was approved by just a single vote.