The Swieqi local council is set to object to plans to develop a nine-storey residential complex on the site of the former Halland Hotel in Tal-Ibraġġ, fronting Wied Għomor.
Although the site is located within the development zones, the council is concerned, as the project will extend further into the valley, which is ODZ, taking up a public pathway which currently provides pedestrian access.
Mayor Noel Muscat also told the Times of Malta that the site was not zoned for residential development and that the proposal did not respect the height limitation in the area.
“The sense of grab and take is unbelievable,” Mr Muscat said.
“The fact that developers are trying to take what’s public and hardly giving anything back to society is unacceptable. Residents are not benefiting from these kinds of projects.”
Raymond Fenech, the applicant on behalf of Halland Developments Company Limited, is proposing the demolition of the existing hotel, excavation of the rock to accommodate parking, replacement of the hotel with a “high-quality residential complex” and landscaping of the adjoining land. The project will cover almost 7,700 square metres.
The sense of grab and take is unbelievable
The application was submitted in October 2015 and is open for public consultation until Friday, after which it will be assessed by the Planning Directorate.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) is not objecting to the project, noting that the site is located within a development zone. It said the site redevelopment was considered “acceptable in principle from an environmental point of view”.
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The ERA noted that there appeared to be more trees on site than those indicated on the plans.
“Given the sensitivity of the site, a method statement indicating both the preventative and mitigation measures to be undertaken during the excavation and construction phases of the project is being requested,” the authority said.
The Swieqi council has in the past weeks stepped up its opposition to development in Wied Għomor, which is a scheduled area of ecological and scientific importance, in the face of several applications.
The planning appeals tribunal rejected a proposal for a 133-room retirement home in the valley on March 2, while the PA approved a small-scale residential development in another part of the valley one week later.
Another application for a five-floor guesthouse on the valley side in St Julian’s is set for refusal after a preliminary verdict by the authority.