Plans to add five storeys to the Fortina Hotel tower in Sliema and build a new 15-storey apartment block have been exempted from the need for an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which is assessing the application, said the proposal was “unlikely to result in environmental impacts that can be effectively addressed in an EIA”.
Instead, the application will be assessed on the basis of a Project Description Statement submitted by the developers, which the ERA said “considered the environmental issues in a sufficient manner”.
Further environmental studies, which would require a full public consultation, “would not add any new information”, according to the authority.
The plans also propose to raise the height of the existing hotel tower to 23 storeys and build a new 13-floor hotel block in place of the spa wing
The application, submitted three days after the general election, seeks to demolish the four-star hotel and spa wing of the five-star resort and build a 15-storey block of 109 apartments, as well as a ground-floor shopping mall and three levels of underground parking.
The plans also propose to raise the height of the existing hotel tower to 23 storeys and build a new 13-floor hotel block in place of the spa wing.
Around 2,500 square metres of open public space will be created at the back of the residential block and maintained by the hotel.
According to the Project Description Statement (PDS), most of the environmental impacts created by the project can be sufficiently addressed through mitigation measures.
The potential visual impact is considered “not significant, given that the design and massing of the proposed development is not conflicting with the surrounding area”.
The PDS also suggests that the impacts of dust generation, noise and vibrations during excavation and construction can all be mitigated through construction regulations, while increased noise levels from traffic are not considered significant due to the location. However, the PDS notes that the impact of the expected increase in traffic on air quality is “not clear” and requests further study to identify it.
The potential visual impact is considered “not significant, given that the design and massing of the proposed development is not conflicting with the surrounding area”.
The PA’s Design Advisory Committee and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage have both given their approval for the development.
The Sliema local council is objecting and has called for a Traffic Impact Assessment and a Social Impact Assessment.
Further concerns were raised by the Partit Demokratiku in October over the fact that the public land on which the existing hotels sit was granted on a soft ground rent intended for the hotel industry.
The inclusion of a residential complex, the PD said, was a clear change of use from that stipulated in the original contract and would “necessitate a rethink of the ground rent, which is an insignificant cost in light of the huge amount of money set to be made”.