Council gives its green light to three towers that will dominate Xgħajra

Developers have reiterated plans for three, 14-storey towers in Xgħajra with photomontages documenting a massive visual impact on the seaside locality’s skyline, at present still characterised by low-rise buildings.

Some of the visuals presented by Jason Mifsud’s Elegant Homes take into consideration the neighbouring Smart City development, with its massing as originally approved back in 2009. Smart City’s new buildings are yet to be approved despite being approved in an outline permit.

The visual study of the three towers shows they will dominate part of the Xgħajra promenade nearest to Smart City, but not from the Tal-Grazzja battery and the more distant part of the Dawret ix-Xatt promenade.

The visuals compare the proposed towers with conventional five-storey development, on the assumption that the Planning Authority could permit the development of the entire site rather than a high-rise with more open spaces.

The low-rise ‘alterative’ is depicted as a uniform wall cutting across the whole site, with no consideration given to possible design or other such conditions imposed by the PA.

The floor-area ratio rules allow medium-rise buildings, of up to 10 storeys, on plots of over 4,000sq.m when surrounded by streets on each side. Over 10-storey high-rises are only permitted in Marsa, Gzira, Paceville, Qawra, Tigné and Mrieħel.

But the approval of medium-rise developments is not automatic since the policy excludes developments on compact, low-rise locations where such buildings are considered “naturally alien”.

The policy says “tall buildings should respond positively to their context including natural topography, scale, height, urban grain, streetscape and built form, and the skyline” and should “retain and enhance key strategic, long-distance views and important vistas at a national and at the local level.”

Earlier in February, the developers asked for a suspension of their application; but new plans and visuals presented last week do not show any substantial changes.  The latest plans were submitted after the local council controversially issued its go-ahead for the project.

In his letter to the PA, the Xgħajra mayor welcomed changes to the original plans which now include “a spacious piazza” accessible from Dawret ix-Xatt. The council said it prefers the application of the floor-area ratio through which building heights are compensated by the creation of a public piazza, than building the entire area with five-storey buildings as allowed in the local plan.  It said the project would result in the upgrade of the small seaside locality “into a high-class residential destination complementing the surroundings and Smart City.”