Seven-storey ‘quarry tower’ to give Naxxar skyline a bump

The Planning Authority is set to approve 275 residential units on the site of a disused quarry in the Sagħjtar area of Naxxar, towards Mosta.

The development is being recommended for approval by a PA case officer despite concerns by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, which called for further changes in the positioning of the new blocks to minimise the impact on the skyline, particularly on views from Attard.

The development includes three underlying parking levels and five seven-storey high residential blocks, proposed on a disused hard-stone quarry belonging to Charles Camilleri. The Planning Authority had already issued an outline permit in 2008.

The permit allowed the developer to go above the three-storey height limit for the area, by including over 2,300 sq.m of public space surrounded by the new building blocks.

The development will have 337 underground garages and 98 other parking spaces.

The abandoned site had been used for quarrying up until the 1970s.

Following a review of photomontages of the proposed development, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage expressed concerns particularly in relation to viewpoint taken from Triq iż-Żahar in Attard, which indicates a clear impact on the traditional roofscape of Naxxar. In view of this the Superintendence declared that it was “not favourable” to the development as proposed and called for a better distribution of building heights to ensure that the development blends better with the village profile.

The PA’s development management directorate replied that, the building height of the project had already been established in the outline permit.

The development is subject to a planning gain of €167,714 which will go to the Planning Authority’s Planning Fund which finances embellishment and urban improvement works in the locality affected.