Another 15-storey hotel on Sliema Strand set for approval

The Planning Directorate is recommending the approval of a 15-storey hotel proposed by Carlo Stivala on the Sliema Strand.

The hotel, to be known as the Sliema Centric Hotel, is set to replace an old three-storey corner building that abuts onto Triq San Vincenz. The street is still characterised by a row of old houses with a uniform height of three floors.

A single eight-storey block of apartments separates the proposed hotel from another 15-storey hotel by the same developer that was approved last week by the Planning board.

The site is already committed to a nine-storey residential project under a permit issued to Michael Stivala in 2019, following another permit granted to a previous owner in 2016.  The permit although still valid was never executed.

The existing building housed a Labour Party club, which was rented to the party for the past decades. The Labour Party already has a larger club in Sliema, located in Triq Gafar.

In the latest plans, the hotel will rise to 12 floors on the adjacent three-storey building in Triq San Vincenz within Sliema’s Urban Conservation Area. This is largely in line with the height approved in 2019, except for an additional recessed three-room extension built over two floors.

The façade, overlooking the Strand will see the addition of three floors over what was approved six years ago. This is the result of two different policies: One extra floor allowed for hotels under the North Harbours Local Plan Policy and two extra floors for hotels permitted by the Hotel Height Adjustment Policy approved in 2014. However, the two top floors will be set back.   

The case officer concludes that due to the setbacks introduced on both Triq ix-Xatt and Triq San Vincenz, the proposed hotel will not have an adverse impact on the townscape and is in conformity with the Strategic Plan for the Economy and Development, “which aims to ensure that all new developments improve amenity and the pleasantness of place.” A final decision is set to be taken by the Planning Board on 27 March.

15 floors: the new norm on the Strand?

Last week, the Planning Authority approved another hotel development, also proposed by Carlo Stivala, on the Strand at the intersection with Triq il-Lunzjata. This project will also result in a blank party wall overlooking the UCA.

The PA board had previously expressed concern on the lack of adequate transition between the UCA and the Strand. This is because according to planning policies the building should have been stepped down within the development zone, but in this case the stepping down was proposed within the urban conservation area. But the project was approved after minor design changes improving the transition from the UCA. Nonetheless, the board insisted it was bound by a previous permit which allowed an increase in the height of the building within the UCA.

Moreover, the application involved the sanctioning of works carried out without a permit against the payment of a €48,000 fine. Works on the site resulting from previous permits had “continued” to include a part of the development envisaged in the hotel development before it was stopped a month before the approval.

The PA has also recently approved a 15-storey hotel on the corner between the existing Pebbles Hotel on Triq ix-Xatt and It-Telgħa tal-Belvedere, proposed by Medasia owner Joseph Casha. Additionally, the PA is assessing another application foreseeing an extension to Michael Stivala’s Sliema Hotel, which could also rise to 15 floors.