High rise will ‘bury’ historical windmill, Qormi council warns

The Qormi council is objecting to a proposed 12-storey office block which risks dwarfing a 17th century windmill known as Il-Mitħna tal-Erwieħ or Il-Mitħna ta’ Pampalaw.

The Qormi council has recently presented an application to restore the windmill and reconstruct its missing parts.

The application presented by Meli Bugeja Limited envisages the demolition of the existing marble factory and the construction of a 12-storey office building.

The project is set to include a retail and catering establishment at ground level and three levels of underground parking apart from offices.

A public open space is also being proposed through the utilisation of the floor area ratio mechanism which compensates for additional storeys over and above the height limitation with more open spaces around the development.

The windmill has been scheduled at Grade 1 for its protection by the Planning Authority.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also insisted that the development should not impact the stability and the views and vistas of this historical windmill.

The cultural heritage watchdog called for the redesign of the proposal “to mitigate the impact on the historical
windmill.”

It also pointed out that punic tombs were documented in the area and the survival of further archaeological remains cannot be excluded.

“There is a risk that ground disturbance in this area may uncover cultural heritage features that may necessitate the amendment of plans”.

On its part the local council has claimed that the 12-storey office block will “bury” the windmill which is adjacent to the site in question.

It also objected to another high-rise building at the entry of the locality.

The council has called for an environment impact assessment and a traffic impact assessment, noting that this zone is already impacted by a number of offices including the HSBC head offices and PWC.

The Qormi local council has recently also objected to another 13-storey high rise earmarked in the vicinity of the roundabout junction between Qormi road, Valletta road, and Triq l-Erba Qaddisin, on the site of an old farmhouse which will be restored and retained.

The council also warned of the visual impact the massive tower will have on the entrance to Qormi and the increase in traffic in the area, noting that the junction was already dangerous, and significant delays were already being experienced along Triq Manuel Dimech and Triq San Bastjan.

Access to the development is also being proposed directly from the roundabout, which the council says would create a safety hazard to other vehicles using the roundabout.