The Żebbuġ local council will be meeting on Monday to discuss its position over the proposed 11-storey tower on the site of the Toyota showroom, according to mayor Sarah Agius Saliba.
She told the Times of Malta when contacted that the council had already discussed the matter informally but was meeting on Monday to take a definite position on the project.
Describing it as a “monster”, Ms Agius Saliba said the 11-storey building being proposed would be more than twice the height of the tallest buildings in Żebbuġ, which are usually limited to five floors.
“We have already discussed it and there seems to be consensus among us against the proposal. But we shall meet again to discuss it formally,” she said.
The nine-person council has five Labour representatives and four representing the Nationalist Party.
She said that following the position that will be taken on Monday, the council will attend a meeting being called for residents on Wednesday, to inform them of the latest news on the project as well as to decide on a way forward.
The project is being proposed by Rohan Arch Ltd, a company held jointly by Michael and Geoffrey Debono, which was incorporated in February 2018 and registered on the Toyota Showroom address in Mdina Road.
The site on which the company is proposing to develop the massive project stretches on three roads: Triq l-Imdina, Triq Ġanni Bonnici and Triq is-Siġġiewi.
According to documents filed with the Planning Authority, the developers are proposing the demolition of existing buildings, currently housing the Toyota showroom, parts section and the body repair centre, and the excavation for three levels of parking, the construction of parking and a “medium-rise building” for commercial and office space.
The project is expected to include restaurants and retail outlets at ground level, with the overlying nine floors and a receded penthouse at the top level, all earmarked for office space. A separate five-storey block being proposed on Triq is-Siġġiewi will in-clude a 1,200 square-metre supermarket at ground level with medical facilities above.
Ms Agius Saliba said Żebbuġ had experienced an increase in construction projects over the past couple of years and residents were now fed up of the situation, let alone with such a major project.