Superintendence objects to Labour Party’s Gzira club plans

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) has warned that the Labour Party’s plans to demolish its Gzira club and replace it with a seven-storey building would have “a negative impact” on the setting of the Orpheum Theatre, a Grade 1 building opposite the site proposed for development. 

The PL wants to demolish an existing townhouse and the adjacent Centru Laburista, to build a seven-storey apartment complex that will include a catering establishment and social club at ground level. Presently the building consists of a ground floor level and overlying 3 to 4 floors. 

The Patrick Stuart Street site includes two adjacent properties, a traditional townhouse probably dating to the inter-war period which the Superintendence says has a degree of architectural value, particularly its facade as well and an internal stone staircase. 

The second property is the Centru Laburista, situated at the corner. 

The Superintendence has expressed particular concern about the proposed ground floor with its high arches, which are considered to be “at odds” with traditional proportions and are described as being “completely alien to the streetscape”. 

The mass of the proposed building is also viewed as excessive, especially due to the impact of proposed protruding Maltese balconies that result in a top-heavy effect. To mitigate such effect, the Superintendence has recommended that any floors above the third floor should be receded and that external apertures should be limited to French windows. 

Since the Labour Party club is located in the immediate vicinity of the Orpheum Theatre, scheduled at Grade 1, any development at this location is subject to a planning circular issued earlier this year which obliges developers to present photomontages from various viewpoints, to assess the impact of the development as well as a character appraisal of the context being taken into consideration. The SCH has called for the presentation of these documents.