Works on Pieta block suspended after SCH appeal

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) has suspended works on a controversial Pieta permit issued by the Planning Authority in January.

The request for suspension was made by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.

The SCH is presently appealing the Planning Authority’s approval of an eight-storey block with seven flats overlooking Triq ix-Xatt in Pietà. The permit issued to Ciantar Properties had been flagged by MaltaToday in February.

During the processing of the application the  SCH had deemed the development “unacceptable” due to its “clear negative impact on the value of several scheduled properties in the immediate vicinity,” particularly Villa Ciantar, Villa Frère, and their Grade 1 listed gardens.

In its decision on Tuesday the EPRT upheld the request for the suspension of works in view “of the sensitive context which includes a number of scheduled gardens and buildings.”

The case is particularly significant because the permit is being appealed by two state agencies namely the  Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and Heritage Malta, apart from the NGO Friends of Villa Frere. It represents a rare case, envisaged in planning laws where state agencies can appeal against decisions taken by the Planning Authority.  This is not the first time that the SCH has appealed a permit.  Another appeal against the demolition of Diamond House in Balzan led to a revision of plans retaining the façade of the townhouse on Old Railway Avenue.

Although the SCH had requested the works to be suspended until a final decision is taken, the tribunal’s decision is only suspending the works for three months.

Presently the EPRT can only suspend works in rare cases when the impact is deemed to have an irreversible impact prejudicing  the historic value and preservation of protected buildings.    

In its appeal, the SCH described the permit issued by the Planning Authority as “totally unacceptable in view of the evident negative impact on the values of the numerous scheduled properties in the area.”  Moreover according to the SCH the development will “severely obstruct the historical vistas of Valletta and the Msida Bastion Cemetery from Villa Frere’s upper Belveder.  The SCH also contends that the development will have a detrimental impact on the modernist Pieta primary school and the context of St Lukes’ Hospital.

The site where the 8-storey block proposed by Ciantar Properties was approved was previously occupied by a dilapidated two-storey building, which was demolished following a permit issued to Ciantar Properties Limited in 2017. At that time, only a single dwelling was permitted, and the development included plans to reconstruct the old building, including its traditional balcony, with an additional setback floor, rising to a height of 12.6 metres.

When objecting to the current development, also proposed by Ciantar Properties, the SCH raised concerns about the increased scale of the project compared to the 2017 permit.

In response, the Planning Directorate rejected the SCH’s objections, arguing that the proposed height complies with the area’s height limitations. It also pointed to similar developments of the same height within the same street, particularly the adjacent building.