No warm welcome to Trade Fair project by Naxxar residents

Residents of Naxxar yesterday faced the architect tasked with the 500-apartment and office complex to be built on the site of the former Trade Fair, with complaints on the lack of studies on traffic and open spaces.

Architect Ray Demicoli presented his concept for the project, which rises to eight storeys in some areas, as a proposal to connect San Pawl tat-Targa to the Naxxar parish church via a walkway passing straight through the Palazzo Parisio area, the land owned by the Ramsay-Scicluna families, owners of the stately Palazzo Parisio.

But residents complained that underground parking amenities for just over 1,100 cars, would not be enough for the residents of the 474 units and office workers.

They said that traffic on St Paul’s Road was so intense in the mornings, with cars waiting up to 20 minutes to emerge from the town centre, that the size of the Trade Fair project would only attract more traffic to the area.

A rendition of the project developers want to build on the site of the former Trade Fair area

Demicoli said that no traffic impact assessment was yet available when asked by residents.

In the developers’ view, the project is being marketed as a way of “designing the spirit of the Maltese village” which in Naxxar tends to be conditioned by the constant flow of traffic encircling the parish church.

Through the entrance from San Pawl tat-Targa, a tree-lined passageway would connect the two town areas, with Demicoli claiming that taking traffic into the underground parking area could restore the fabric of the village as it once was.

But there was scepticism amongst the public.

One resident railed against the fact that all answers to detailed questions were met with a “don’t know”, complaining that beyond the design of the project there were little other studies.

Another resident complained that open space on Torri tal-Kaptan street would be replaced by six-storey buildings, while no clear provisions were being on the planning for residents.

Demicoli pointed to the San Pawl tat-Targa gateway and suggested that since the project was not a gated community, the planning gain was evidently the project’s integration into the village as a whole.

Demicoli also could not show any streetscapes where five- to eight-storey construction would block current views and light, instead presenting residents with views of the two-storey construction.

The architect conceded that traffic would increase but insisted that there were enough parking spaces for residents and more. “I appreciate the concern of those who experience traffic… yes the project will increase, which is why we have to study the impact and see how to solve it.”

“There is obviously a feeling that the parking as proposed is inadequate,” Demicoli said.

Perhaps the comment that mostly illustrated residents’ anger at the project was by a resident who said he had left Sliema because of the traffic problem. “It looks like you are bringing in a piece of Sliema to Naxxar.”

Demicoli would also not commit himself on any time-scale for the excavation and development of the project, despite his considerable experience in the design and management of such projects. “It is still too early to state,” he said.

Residents were also irked at the fact that while heights in Naxxar are limited to three and two-storey buildings, the Trade Fair was seemingly allowed special consideration by the PA’s local plan policy.