An application by the American University of Malta in Cospicua to extend the campus above the ex-police station right the heart of the dock community is unacceptable, an NGO warned on Saturday.

This further request will inevitably lead to over-intensification of private use essentially resulting in a takeover of the cityscape, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said.

More worryingly, the application for an extension to the three-storey addition, comes at a time when the main building itself is still a construction site with media reports announcing the mass dismissal of its staff.

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"The total encroachment of this private development cannot be accepted as a sensible urban planning solution. Neither can it be justified as necessary for educational ends when the need of the existing approved structure itself can barely stand, with the development already failing to uphold its contractual obligations by what should have been its first year as an active university."

FAA called on the authorities to be vigilant and ensure that the "heart and soul" of this community is not sold off and compromised for shortsighted speculative aims.

The AUM campus as it stands today.