A Sliema townhouse acquired by Mark Gaffarena as part of the controversial Valletta property deal recently declared null by the courts, is being demolished.
Mr Gaffarena was issued a planning permit in April 2017 to develop the property in Manwel Dimech Street and add an extra three floors for a block of apartments and garages. He was instructed to retain the facade.
The house is one of five sites in the €3.4 million cash-and-land deal the government paid Mr Gaffarena for a half-share of a property in Old Mint Street, Valletta, which he had purchased at a fraction of the cost months earlier.
The transfer, unearthed by The Sunday Times of Malta in 2015, was struck down by the court last month in a case instituted by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
The court ordered that all assets be returned to the government.
Preparatory works on the property started on March 27
Mr Gaffarena appealed the judgment, arguing that it was null because it was given regarding an entity – the Commissioner for Lands – that no longer existed by the time the judgment was handed down.
He also dismissed the revocation as an “exercise founded on a political basis”.
The Times of Malta is informed that preparatory works on the Sliema property started before the court judgement on March 27, with demolition commencing in earnest about a week ago.
The Sliema townhouse, which has an extensive garden at the back, is situated within the urban conservation area and in the vicinity of the scheduled Villa Bonici Gardens.
Din l-Art Ħelwa objected to its demolition on the basis that an internal photographic survey had shown that the building merited retention. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage raised no objections to the proposal.
The property is the first one included in the Old Mint Street package deal to see development but it may not be the last.
Mr Gaffarena has also applied to build an agritourism complex on a field in Tal-Ħandaq transferred in the expropriation deal, with a decision by the Planning Authority expected in June.
The 6,000 square metre site is already occupied by a large swimming pool and restaurant, and was used as an entertainment venue for years despite a pending enforcement notice dating back to 2012.
The application previously only sought to sanction the existing structures but has since grown to include accommodation, stables, an equestrian track and a bird sanctuary.
The Environment and Resources Authority and Din l-Art Ħelwa both objected to the earlier, more limited application.