Five-storey block approved in Paola’s village core

A five-storey high block consisting of a shop and 20 apartments has been approved in Paola’s village core some 265m downhill from the Corradino Correctional Facility.

The proposed apartments are being proposed on a 335sq.m corner site between Triq Brittanja and Triq Valletta, partly located in the urban conservation area.

The Poala local council had objected to the increased density of the project which comes as a result of the decision to zone a substantial part of Paola as a Student Priority Area where the number of one-bedroomed apartments is not capped as is the case in the rest of Malta where one-bedroom apartments are limited to 20%.   

The development is being proposed by  Silvan Mizzi, a business partner of construction mogul Joseph Portelli in a company called Trivium Projects.

The development was approved despite the concerns of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage that the development would result in “high volumes bearing directly” on the UCA and the creation of  blank party walls along both streets which are still characterised by two storey buildings.

The SCH had described the existing building as an “elegant” one with “significant cultural heritage value” due to its thick-walled facade, formal entrance hallway, several beamed ceilings and stone staircase.

The SCH’s concerns on the internal demolition of the building and the  loss of historic fabric and traditional building techniques was partly addressed by the Planning Commission which has imposed several conditions including the careful dismantling of a traditional staircase and entrance hall which are to be re-erected within the project itself. A €10,000 bank guarantee was also imposed to ensure the retention of the existing façades of the building and the careful dismantling of the entrance hall and its re-erection.

The present building consists of a two-storey townhouse and lies in an area where the local plan sets a height limitation of three floors and a semi basement, which according to a policy approved in 2015 translates to a height of 17.5m.

The case officer recommended the development noting that the original façade is being retained and that the third floor is being setback from the UCA part of the site by 3m thus resulting in an adequate transitional design between the Urban Conservation Area and the new building.

But the local council  had also objected  to the intensification of use, which the locality “cannot sustain” blaming this on the designation of a “vast area of Paola” as a Student Priority Area.

The Development Control Design Policy approved in 2015 designated properties located in a 350m radius around the entire external perimeter of the University of Malta, the Junior College, the Mater Dei hospital, the Gozo general hospital and the MCAST campuses in Paola and Naxxar as Student Priority areas.  The council was not consulted before this policy was introduced.

While in all other areas in Malta and Gozo the number of one-bedroomed apartments is capped at 20% of the total number of apartments which can be approved in any project, no such capping applies to projects proposed in Student Priority Areas.

The council had warned the zoning of a substantial part of the locality for students’ housing will increase pressure to demolish existing houses for redevelopment of studio apartments and will result  in excess strain on the infrastructure of the town.