Planning Authority approves demolition of Balzan modernist villa

Another modernist villa will bite the dust as the Planning Commission has today approved plans to replace a terraced house built in Old Railway Avenue in the 1960s with a five-storey apartment block.

The case officer had recommended the approval of the application despite the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage’s objection to the demolition of the villa’s façade.

The SCH noted that the property in question has a degree of architectural value, being a typical example of a double-fronted townhouse from the period and having significant design features, including its apertures and railings.

But while recognising that the façade is “an example of a traditional Maltese streetscape from the modernist post war-era” the PA’s Development Management Directorate still recommended its demolition because “the existing streetscape is already committed by similar developments”, is located outside the Urban Conservation Area and is bereft of any degree of protection.

Changes were made to the original plans after in February the Planning Commission asked the developers to present a new design for the façade which better reflects the architectural context. The decision was postponed again in March after the Commission asked for a redesign of the proposed balcony railing.

But while improvements have been made to the original plans the development still would result in a pencil development ruining the characteristics of the area.

Din l-Art Helwa and the Archeological Society objected to the development and have called on the PA to protect Malta’s modernist heritage. The NGOs warned that the proposed increase in height would intrude and overshadow the chapel of the Sisters of Charity and its gardens located in Balzan’s urban conservation area.