The Planning Authority has approved controversial plans for a historic house and garden in Mdina despite complaints that the property’s scheduled status was misleadingly left out of the application process.

The three-person Planning Commission yesterday unanimously approved the renewal of 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.

The permit also sanctions a garage built in the garden.

The application proved controversial, as it wrongly stated that the house was not scheduled, prompting environmental groups to write to the PA last month complaining that the “grossly misleading… misrepresentation” of the site had denied them an opportunity to object during the brief public consultation period.

The grossly misleading… misrepresentation denied us an opportunity to object

During yesterday’s hearing, the applicant’s lawyers objected to the presence of the residents who showed up to oppose the permit, as they were not registered objectors, which the residents argued was one result of the misstated application.

The board rejected calls for the permit application be republished with the correct information, allowing for objections, noting that the matter had already been decided by the authority.

Read: ‘Scheduled status misleadingly left out of Mdina application’

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

The application was recommended for approval by the Planning Directorate, although the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage 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 has now been renewed, dates back to 2008 and has been subject to several reconsiderations, appeals and court cases, the latest of which is ongoing.

Objectors have argued that the development will have an adverse impact on an important archaeological site and is incompatible with the urban and environmental characteristics of the area, in additions to their concerns over noise, vibrations and increased commercial traffic in the quiet, residential area.

The whole of Mdina is designated as an Urban Conservation Area 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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