Four-storey office block set to rise on Birkirkara Bypass townhouse

An application has been presented to construct a four-storey office block along the Birkirkara bypass in the garden of an old house which lies outside development boundaries.

The office block will abut a narrow ODZ alley known as Sqaq it-Tiġieġ which leads into the San Gwann industrial estate, and a row of two-storey buildings along Triq San Ġiljan facing the Birkirkara by-pass.

As proposed, the new contemporary building will retain the façade and a significant part of the old building retaining its prominence when viewed from the bypass.

The application presented by owner Neil Desira follows the approval of the height and volumes of the project by the Planning Authority in July.

While recognising that no part of the site is designated for commercial development, the case officer still recommended approval due to its proximity to similar developments.

In fact, the old building itself falls  within the boundaries of a rural hamlet in Triq San Giljan, which is exclusively zoned for residential use. The rest of the site including the garden and several garages along the alley are located outside development zones.

The case officer recommending approval of the outline permit issued in July justified approval because of its location “within the commercial/industrial fringe”, where a  transitional building can be considered.

The approved outline permit foresees three levels of basement parking for 77 cars and four floors of offices, two of which will be receded.

The proposal retains the elegant façade of the building along with its front garden overlooking Triq San Giljan.

The Environment and Resources Authority had originally expressed concern that the development  protrudes in the ODZ and will result in the loss of a number of  mature trees, which are present on site. But subsequently ERA approved the uprooting and transplanting of the existing trees and  expressed no objection to the proposed development. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage also approved the treatment of the old building.

In 2007, the Planning Authority approved an outline application for the demolition of the building, retaining the existing front for the construction of a building “not exceeding the height of existing front elevation”. This was done against the recommended refusal of the case officer. But a full planning application was never presented, and the development was not carried out.

A similar application for a clinic and showroom and two-storey residence, was also withdrawn after a case officer’s refusal in 2018.  On that occasion the case officer objected to the scale of the proposed development, finding it to be “over-development”. While noting the retention of the original façade, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had also objected to demolition and “the obliteration” of the garden and the removal “of distinctive architectural elements”. The Environment and Resources Authority had also warned that the 2018 development would set an “undesirable precedent for similar future development which would lead to loss of such green spaces within ODZ”.

The new office block could pave the way for the transformation of the presently open gap between Birkirkara and the San Gwann industrial estate.

In fact, another pending application foresees the development of a supermarket on the other side of the Sqaq it-Tigieg on farmland which is entirely ODZ.