Dingli council warns five-storey block will visually bury medieval chapel

The Dingli local council has unanimously decided to object to the development of a five-storey block just 17m away from the protected medieval Santa Duminka chapel.

At a meeting held on Tuesday evening, the council warned the proposed development will “visually bury” the chapel that was afforded the highest level of protection in 2020.

The proposed development abuts onto a road built by Infrastructure Malta in 2021 amidst protests by Moviment Graffitti.

The council insists that since the proposed block lies within a buffer zone established to protect the context of the chapel, it cannot be approved.

The chapel had been proposed for scheduling in November 2012 but it  was only after Graffitti activists took direct action to stop works on the new road that the PA and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage moved to schedule it.

The five-storey residential block is being proposed along Triq il-Kappella Medjevali, the controversial street built by Infrastructure Malta.

The application presented by Angelica Stafrace, who owns the site, foresees the development of the 184sq.m undeveloped land parcel which currently includes a number of fruit trees.

The site earmarked for the development was not connected to the road network before the new road was built.

Plans foresee the excavation of a reservoir, the development of garages and a shop at street level, six apartments on the overlying three levels and a receded penthouse on the fifth floor.

Infrastructure Malta had claimed the new road was essential for emergency services like fire engines to access the area. But Graffitti had warned at the time it would pave the way for residential development to spread.