Tarxien mayor non-committal on eight-storey home

“It is up to the Planning Authority… I do not involve myself in such matters,” Tarxien mayor Paul Farrugia replied when asked for his opinion on a proposed eight-storey old people’s home in an area where only four-storey buildings are allowed.

The proposed nursing home with 104 rooms is set to rise to eight storeys above road level and includes three basement levels. The application was presented by Frank Spiteri on a site within the development zone where a maximum height of 14 metres is allowed. The proposed building which will would become the highest in the locality if approved, would be nearly 29 metres high.

While the Labour mayor is non-committal, PN councillor Lawrence Bonavia will be raising the issue at the next council meeting. 

“I have nothing against nursing homes, but eight storeys above ground is too much especially when considering the height of buildings in the area,” he said.

The proposed nursing home with 104 rooms is set to rise to eight storeys above road level and includes three basement levels

The site fronts Triq tal-Barrani in the corner with Triq il-Palma and Triq Lorenzo Gonzi in Tarxien. The application is being proposed on a vacant site where the PA has already approved a showroom and three storeys for offices and apartments in 2014.

A draft policy regulating building heights of old people’s homes is set to allow residential homes for the elderly to add an additional two floors over and above the number of floors allowed in the local plan. Moreover, according to design guidelines issued last year, the PA may consider higher buildings in corner sites like the one in Tarxien.

A petition against the proposed nursing home in Tarxien has already been signed by more than 400 residents. The petition appeals on residents to unite to protect Tarxien from a development which is deemed too high for a locality characterised by low rise construction.