The Planning Authority has given the go-ahead for a 12-storey residential development at Smart City.

The Shoreline project will include some 400 luxury flats, the majority one-bedroomed, almost 14,000 square metres of rentable commercial space, mostly shops, and another 1,500 square metres of bars and restaurants.

It was approved by the PA on Thursday by 10 votes to one, amid questions on the height and visual impact from Sliema and Valletta, as well as the process used to secure changes to the approved Smart City masterplan.

READ: SmartCity developers find new way of circumventing height, building space limitations

Although the development’s floor-space by far exceeds the masterplan parameters, these limitations were circumvented after Smart City Malta agreed to transfer an additional 35,000 square metres of development space from other parts of the wider project to the Shoreline site.

NGO representative Annick Bonello, the sole board member to vote against the application, said the land "bartering" at the developer's request was unacceptable and set a precedent for other applications.

Questions over building height also arose as the master plan had set a seven-storey limit for buildings on the Shoreline site, which the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage strongly insisted should be respected due to the impact on views of Valletta.

However, the PA case officer said during the hearing that as a result of the development space transfer, the overall visual impact would remain unchanged.

Artist's impression showing the Shoreline project.

Project architect Edwin Mintoff added that as the extra floors would be removed from approved sites on higher land elsewhere in Smart City, the impact on views from Valletta would be improved.

He noted that no formal objections had been submitted by any individuals or consulting authorities.

The project is also expected to generate a massive 230,000 cubic metres of construction waste during excavation to sea level, highlighted in the Environment Impact Assessment as a major negative impact.

The project architect said during the hearing that this waste would be recycled.

The permit was approved against a planning gain of 1.2 million euros to fund local council projects. Following a request by the architect it was agreed that around 800,000 euros of this could instead be paid in works in kind.