Controversial plans for a historic house and garden in Mdina could be given the go-ahead despite complaints that the property’s scheduled status was misleadingly left out of the application process.

The Planning Authority will decide on Monday whether to renew a permit to extend part of a Grade 3 scheduled house on Magazine Street and St Nicholas Street and convert it into a tourist attraction and catering establishment, as well as sanctioning a garage built in the garden.

The application, however, stated that the house was not scheduled, and environmental groups have written to the PA complaining that the “grossly misleading… misrepresentation” of the site denied them an opportunity to object during the brief public consultation period.

“Scheduled properties demand a higher level of protection, and that more attention is paid to any developments or change of use on them,” Din L-Art Ħelwa said in a letter to PA chairman Vince Cassar.

“However, the fact that it was misrepresented as a non-scheduled building, contributed to this application slipping under the radar, denying us the right to fully evaluate and freely object to it as necessary.”

The NGO said the move could be in breach of the Aarhus Convention on public participation in decision-making, and demanded that the permit be republished with the correct information, allowing for objections.

NGO demands that the permit be republished with the correct information

Similar complaints were raised by lawyers representing Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and residents.

However, in an e-mail response to the request, PA executive chairman Johann Buttigieg said: “The fact that a person has not indicated that the building is scheduled or otherwise does not have any material bearing on the republication of the application.”

A decision is therefore set to be made during a hearing on Monday with no registered objectors.

The Planning Directorate has recommended the application for approval although the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has expressed concern and said it was unclear if the current renewal would permit further works to be carried out within the archaeologically sensitive area.

The original permit, which is up for renewal, dates back to 2008 and has been subject to several reconsiderations, appeals and court cases, the latest of which is still ongoing. It was filed by Camille Scerri, a PN local councillor in Mdina.

Objectors argued that the development will have an adverse impact on an important archaeological site and that it is incompatible with the urban and environmental characteristics of the Urban Conservation Area, apart from concerns over noise, vibration and increased commercial traffic in the quiet residential area.

The whole of Mdina is designated as a UCA and a Grade 1 scheduled site.

The site also lies within an area of archaeological importance and a Class A archaeological site.

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