Qormi mall could get two more storeys

The Planning Authority will proceed with plans to increase building heights for Qormi’s Centerparc shopping mall, despite strong objections from the Environment and Resources Authority.

The mall will now increase in height by 11m, instead of the originally permitted landscaped area on its roof.

The policy change by the PA was tailor-made to accommodate one single development by developers Tum Invest, to now allow an additional two floors above the level of the existing building on an area previously zoned for “soft landscaping”.

The change – originally proposed by the government in March 2019 – has now been endorsed by the Planning Authority’s Executive Council, and issued for a six-week public consultation period.

A zoning application approved in 2017 had specified that the mall’s roof below the Qormi Road level be allocated for soft landscaping. But the same application identified only part of the roof as a “public open space”, the rest for “soft landscaping”. This was the area in the immediate vicinity of a reconstructed Knights-era farmhouse that was retained.

The new policy change states that the additional development must stop short of the reconstructed farmhouse, allowing for a suitable buffer in which site coverage is limited to around 55%. The rest of the roof will be the predominantly soft-landscaped area, serving as a public space “for the enjoyment… by visitors of all ages and abilities to the centre during opening hours”.

The ERA had objected to the changes, expressing serious concerns on the proposed increase of the allowable building heights and the removal of the soft landscaping on the roof.

It warned that further intensification of development in an area with significant traffic flows and congestion could result in a substantial increase in traffic and related environmental impacts. “These include air pollution and pressures for further take-up of undeveloped land to extend, upgrade or construct new infrastructure, such as roads and car parks. Thereby, any approved landscaping and adjacent green areas should be retained, and not prejudiced by future proposals.”

The Qormi council had originally opposed the plans to develop the landscaped area, expressing its disappointment that it was not even consulted on this issue and declaring its opposition. But in September 2019 the newly-elected council withdrew the objection to the changes to the zoning policy.