Six-storey addition to Sliema’s Britannia Flats ‘unacceptable’ says watchdog

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has shot down the design of a proposed six-storey addition on the existing Britannia Flats as “unacceptable”.

Britannia Flats, a stand-alone apartment block fronting Tower Road with Triq Luzju and Amery Street on its back, dates back to the early 20th century.

The additional five storeys and a penthouse level will raise the building’s height to ten storeys, to accommodate ten new apartments.

As proposed the additional storeys build in a contemporary style will be super-imposed on the old building.

But Malta’s cultural heritage watchdog is against this treatment insisting that the additional storeys are not compatible with the existing building. “Whilst this office is not averse to a modern addition, the proposed extension needs to have the same building rhythm, alignment and a complimentary design to the existing structure.”

While not ruling out a height extension the SCH insists that this should be done in a manner that respects the buildings’ “rhythm and alignment”.

But residents are also concerned by the over shadowing on neighbouring streets particularly the very narrow Triq Luzju.

Several pointed out that the development will impinge upon the privacy of residents in Triq Luzju and warned that the proposed height is in breach of sanitary rules.

In fact, four years ago a case officer had deemed a previous application proposing additional floors on half the building’s roof to be in breach of sanitary regulations which state that in streets or open spaces which are wider than 3m but less than or equal to 15m, the overall height of the facade should not exceed three times the width of the street. In this regard, according the case officer the overall building height on Trejqet Luzju, indicated to be 3.88m wide, is not to exceed 11.64m.

Unlike the previous application, which proposed five new levels on half of the roof thus creating a blank party wall on the rest of the building, the application presented by Fafner Investments now covers the entire roof.

Brittania Flats is one of the few traditional buildings untouched by the transformation of Tower Road in the 1980s and early 1990s, when traditional townhouses were knocked down to make way for eight storey tower blocks.