The Planning Authority has given the go-ahead for a new eight-storey hotel in a Swieqi residential area, close to Paceville, despite residents’ vociferous objections.

The 104-bedroom hotel, which will take the place of an existing two-storey house in Lourdes Lane, an area designated as a “residential buffer zone”, was approved by the Planning Board today with nine votes in favour and three against.

Residents argued during the hearing that the new hotel would mean the activity in Paceville would spill over into the area and increase rowdy behaviour outside their homes. They also said parking and traffic problems in the narrow road would be made worse by the development.

Din L-Art Ħelwa president Maria Grazia Cassar said the mass of the building, in an area dominated by two-storey houses, would “completely obliterate” the visual prominence of Villa Rosa on the approach to Paceville.

Although the height limitation for the area is just three floors, the project benefitted from a number of policies including a height limitation adjustment for hotels, which allows for an additional two storeys to be built.

Architects for the Swieqi local council, which was among the objectors, argued that the policy was only intended to apply to existing buildings, but the argument was refuted by the board.

They added that as a residential buffer zone, only “small-scale” uses were allowed by the local plan.

However, the project architect insisted that all the arguments against the proposal fell flat because the local plan designated the area as part of Paceville, rather than Swieqi, and determined the permitted uses accordingly.

Chairman Vince Cassar was among the three board members voting against, arguing that the proposal was “excessive” and failed to safeguard residents’ quality of life. NGO representative Annick Bonello and Environment and Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak also voted against.

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