An appeal is expected to be heard this week over the Planning Authority’s refusal to allow the development of six townhouses at a 400-year-old garden in the heart of Lija.
The developer filed the appeal after the Planning Authority last December turned down his request to demolish the large garden on the corner of Triq Annibale Preca in Lija and Triq Sant’Antnin in Balzan.
The refusal came following a storm of objections over the plans.
The application would have seen the excavation of the 17th-century garden measuring around 920 square metres, including protected citrus trees and garden rubble walls, to create eight basement garages and six two-storey townhouses with swimming pools.
All of the proposed dwellings are four-bedroom units, having a gross floor area exceeding 200 square metres. Alterations to the existing townhouse, which includes baroque-period architectural features, were also mentioned in the application.
The applicant not only filed an appeal but also submitted fresh plans that reduced the number of proposed townhouses to three. However, the garden itself will still be taken over, particularly with swimming pools.
Sources close to the industry said this was an odd move since the appeal is over the refusal to allow the original plan.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had vehemently opposed the project, saying that the site was an established garden forming part of a property “of evident architectural and historical value”.
World War II shelters also recorded in the vicinity
Moreover, it said, the property was located within the urban conservation area and was in the vicinity of San Anton Palace, which was a scheduled property.
World War II shelters were also recorded in the vicinity of the proposed works, it added.
“The Superintendence notes that the proposed development is both intensive and extensive, with an undeniable and negative impact both on the property and on the streetscapes in two streets within the urban conservation area,” it added.
The Lija local council had also objected to the destruction of the 400-year-old garden at the crossroads of the Three Villages.
The council’s was one of 150 objections submitted to the PA, many citing the loss of the historic garden, the increase in traffic and the intensification of development in an urban conservation area, which objectors say will also set a precedent.
The PA said the developer could not submit fresh drawings at this stage as this changed the substance of the proposal.
It said it stuck to its original position opposing the planned development and argued that the appeal should be thrown out.