PA postpones decision on Għargħur ‘bastion of concrete’

The Planning Authority’s planning commission has abstained from taking a decision on a six-storey Għargħur development, given that two other applications for adjoining blocks are still being processed.

The blocks will rise six floors to form a bastion of concrete that would block views of the nearby Għargħur Parish Church. Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and Għargħur residents said the development would ruin the character of Għargħur, one of Malta’s better-preserved villages.

The PC concluded that “the visual appearance of the proposal does not adequately respond to the context of the surrounding locality, particularly with regard to volume in relation and proximity of UCA (urban conservation area) zoning... PC also noted that this development might have a bearing decision of adjacent applications currently being considered at directorate level and, PC is therefore suspending the current deliberation of this application so that the case can be decided along these other applications.|

FAA condemned the attitude of developers and architects who were claiming an automatic right to build up to the excessive heights allowed in the DC15 policy’s Annex 2 regulations.

“It is a height limitation, not a divine right,” FAA co-ordinator Astrid Vella said. “The mechanism of depicting the ‘potential heights’ of adjoining houses as if they were already built up is another misleading gimmick which is so damaging to our skylines. Those involved in the development sector need to adopt the doctors’ oath of ‘first do no harm’.”

FAA coordinator Astrid Vella said that the UCA demarcation of the village raised many questions, as it weaves selectively in between plots instead of including the village core logically, which she said was a result of the corruption of the extension of development zones in 2006.

“This was further compounded by the raising of building heights following the DC 2015 regulations, which allow buildings in formerly three-storey areas to rise up to five storeys plus penthouse, which is ruining Malta’s towns and villages. So much so that if the application to be decided by the PA this Wednesday is approved, it will obliterate the sight of Għargħur church from the Madliena side,” Vella said.

Vella added that the five-storey benchmark was a height limitation at the Planning Authority’s discretion, not a divine right, even if there is a precedent in the area.

Residents complained that too much of Għargħur had already been ruined and that the rampant construction, dust and excavation noise had to stop.