Nadur’s Villa tal-Kokka could be replaced by 34 flats

A planning application is proposing the demolition of the Villa tal-Kokka in Nadur and its substitution by 34 residential units with underlying garages and three swimming pools.

As proposed the development will include a ground floor, two overlying floors and a receded upper floor.

Although located within the development zone, the 2,635 sq.m villa area is located on a ridge edge overlooking the zone outside development, which is protected by local plan policies that demand “special consideration” to the design of building elevations.

Moreover, developments on ridges must blend with the “architectural elements found at the urban edge of Gozitan settlements”.

Building heights in these areas are limited to 12.3m, as proposed in the application.

The application follows the approval of a zoning application last year which changed the designation of an area around the existing villa dwelling that had a 40% site coverage, into a normal residential area with no restrictions on site coverage.

NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa had warned the change in zoning will lead to an increase in development density that fails to respect the existing context. The Planning Authority’s case officer admitted that rezoning would “inevitably result in an intensification of the area.”

But the change in zoning was instead deemed acceptable since all adjacent houses to the north, west and east of the site had been zoned in the same way. With the visual impact on the ridge edge mitigated by a front garden, this was deemed to act as a buffer between the residential development and the ridge edge.

Gozitan NGO Għawdix is objecting to the latest Nadur application, insisting that a better quality design is required on the boundary between the development zone and the outside development zone.

“Regrettably, the proposed development falls short of meeting these aesthetic standards,” the NGO said, calling on the PA to uphold the integrity of the streetscape by “reducing the scale of the development and selecting an architectural style that is more in harmony with the area and respectful of the local architecture.”