The Pembroke local council has called for a downscaling of the proposed tower and hotel at St George’s Bay, laying out wide-reaching concerns over the impact of the major development on the town.

“The scale of the project will leave an unsavoury impact on its visual surroundings and, more importantly, on the social and economic activity of our town,” the council said in a statement.

“This raises concerns over the role our locality will play in future. Pembroke should remain the small town so loved by its residents and visitors, not an appendix to a massive project.”

Pembroke should remain the small town so loved by its residents and visitors

The €300 million City Centre project – which has been embroiled in major controversy over the €60 million developers db Group paid for the public land – will include a 37-storey residential tower, a 17-storey Hard Rock Hotel, a casino and shopping mall.

In comments to the Planning Authority, the Pembroke council highlighted the “obvious incompatibility of the design with the surrounding land use, in terms of skyline, massing, density and proximity to residents”.

It added it was “even more concerned on issues of parking provision, suitability of infrastructure, health and safety and environmental concerns and the long-term physical effects of such a development on the social fabric of Pembroke’s society”.

The council called for further studies to determine the effects of reduction in fresh air circulation and increased pollution due to the projected increased traffic and stressed the need to preserve the privacy, solar access and character of neighbouring residences. Environment impact assessment studies have already established that the development will double traffic in the area – adding an average of 7,000 new trips every day – and impact important views as far away as Mdina and Vittoriosa, according to new environmental studies.

During excavation works, about 3,000 cubic metres of rock will have to be removed from the site daily over four-and-a-half months by 13 trucks per hour in a 12-hour working day

During excavation works, about 3,000 cubic metres of rock will have to be removed from the site daily over four-and-a-half months by 13 trucks per hour in a 12-hour working day.

Shading studies also found that nearby residents to the north, and hotel guests in the surrounding area, would be highly affected at specific hours of the day, especially in the colder seasons.

Economically, the development is projected to produce spill-over effects on the surrounding area, increasing demand for other goods and services and generating a significant injection into the local economy through the sale of luxury apartments to high net-worth buyers.

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