Chairperson outvoted in Fleur de Lys permit

With two votes against one, the Planning Commission has approved a pencil development in  Triq Fleur de Lys in an area still characterised by two-storey townhouses.

Board chairperson Stephania Baldacchino voted against, while members Anthony Camilleri and Mireille Fsadni voted in favour.

The five-storey development proposed by Joseph Formosa Gauci was recommended for approval by the case officer, mainly because another similar development had been approved 33m away on the corner with Triq San Pawl.  The latter development was approved in 2018 by another board which had a different composition.

In the most recent case, the board has been reluctant to approve the development, with the decision being postponed twice.

Moreover, in a meeting held in October 2023 the board had asked for the clearance of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH). But no such clearance was ever issued by the SCH which had already objected to the development.

The area is characterised by two-storey townhouses which date back to the early twentieth century.

The permit will allow the internal demolition of the existing house, retaining its façade and adding three overlying floors, one of which will be receded by 3m. The development will host a shop at ground floor level and eight two-bedroom apartments. The extension will be constructed in Maltese limestone.

An existing parapet wall will be dismantled and relocated at a higher level and the shop’s entrance will be built in timber to better complement the surroundings.

The Superintendence had strongly objected to the development insisting that the total internal demolition of the existing building as well as the volumes and massing being proposed “would have an unacceptably negative impact on a significant streetscape which is worthy of preservation”.

The SCH also described the site of the development as “an extremely well-preserved streetscape in a prominent road leading to the Urban Conservation Area” which is presently characterised “by two-storey properties, built in similar style and proportions”.

The SCH also disagreed with the internal demolition of the townhouse noting that it includes a typical entrance hall, stone staircase and ceiling borne on timber beams which merit protection due to their cultural value.

In his report the case officer overruled this objection by noting that the existing façade is being retained, and other similar developments have been approved within the same streetscape. Moreover, the townhouse is outside the Urban Conservation Area and does not enjoy any protection.

The local plan allows a building height of three floors and a basement in the area, which translates into 16.3m.

The development will result in the shortfall of six parking spaces which will be made up for through a contribution to the Planning Authority’s Urban Improvements Fund.

Commenting on another development in 2017, the heritage watchdog had declared that it “had already recommended that buildings along Triq Fleur de Lys are scheduled to preserve visual integrity of the historic streetscape.” It remains unclear as to why this step was never taken.

The decision not to designate Fleur de Lys as a UCA was questioned again by the Superintendence in 2021, when it expressed “surprise and concern that the streetscape has not been given the protection due to the area as an Urban Conservation Area”.

The permit approved in 2018 which set a precedent for other permits in the area had been issued by another board then chaired by Elisabeth Ellul. Curiously Ellul was absent when the final vote was taken but the development was approved by the votes of Mariello Spiteri and Simon Saliba, two officials who no longer serve on the board.