St Augustine College rector: ‘We will be buried’

The rector of St Augustine college has formally objected to a proposed nine-storey development of 48 apartments, instead of the Sa Maison elderly home in Pietà.

The development will also replace a neighbouring building along Borton Lane, an old alley which includes several protected buildings.

The school’s basketball court and multipurpose hall are in the same alley just 27m from the proposed development. Some of the school’s classes and other sports facilities will be overlooking the development. The development also foresees the excavation of an underground carpark.

“We will end up being enveloped in a construction site being continuously exposed to noise… to the detriment of all students particularly 11- and 12-year-olds whose ground faces Borton Lane,” the rector said.

He warned that the noise would have negative consequences on student health and education. “As a result of demolition works and the increased heights, we will continue being buried and continue losing air and space… Is this the quality of life we want to give to our students and the people?” asked the rector in his strongly worded objection.

The rector’s concerns are not limited to the direct impact of the development on students but also to the impact on the skyline, the adjacent scheduled buildings along Borton Alley and the quality of life of Pietà residents.

“The development will jar with surroundings which include a number of listed protected buildings, including Villa Guardamangia, where Queen Elizabeth used to live.”

While Villa Guardamangia is located 100m away from the proposed development, the development will abut scheduled buildings located in Borton Lane itself.

As proposed, the development is set to rise to 26m above street level, with undergound parking, a ground parking level, offices and retail shops at ground level, and six overlying storeys of apartments and a penthouse level.

The warehouse earmarked for demolition was built in a traditional style but was not included in the list of properties requiring protection, as were three adjacent townhouses granted Grade 2 protection.

The local plan limits the warehouse’s height to three floors, while that of the former retirement home is limited to five. Development control policies in 2015 translated these limits into metric heights of 22.9m for the site area where the retirement home is location, and 15.4m for the warehouse site.

The development is proposed by Heritage Holdings, a company owned by developer Dimitri Sturdza. Several applications in the area, including one for a 10-storey hotel, have been rejected by the Planning Authority in the past few years.