Naxxar trade fair owners submit new masterplan for 47 blocks

A new masterplan for the Naxxar trade fair zone foresees 47 residential and office blocks that will range from two to six floors, together with a five-a-side football pitch and bowls club, and a family recreational area.

The heirs of the Marquis John Scicluna, who run the Palazzo Parisio stately home and gardens, have presented a planning control application to set building heights and zoning for the 53,550sq.m site of the former trade fair.  

The development will include 81,010sq.m of ground space over a footprint of 23,113sq.m.

A pending planning application presented by the same owners in 2013 is currently suspended pending the approval of the zoning application.   

This means that the developers will first be seeking the PA’s consent for building heights and zoning for development in this area, before proceeding with their full permit application which would than become a formality.

The latest plans represent slightly lower building heights in some areas over plans submitted in 2017, which included an eight and a seven-storey block and did not foresee the development of community facilities.  

The masterplan includes seven blocks, consisting of five floors and a penthouse, and 22 blocks consisting of four floors and a penthouse.

The other blocks consist of three or two floors.

This is reflected in a slight reduction of floor-space from 83,717sq.m to 81,010sq.m.

The local plan approved in 2006 sets a limit of 116,250sq.m to the gross floor area which can be approved in the area. While limiting buildings approved on the site to four floors, the local plan foresees buildings on five floors in the north-western part of the site “only if this is required in order to retain a total developable residential floor-space of 116,250sq.m.” A penthouse level is also permitted “provided that this will not impinge on important views.”

As proposed, the project now largely conforms to the local plan, as it is limited to a maximum of five floors and a penthouse, and occupies a floor space of less than 116,250sq.m.

The plans earmark a small area at the north of the site for a five-a-side football pitch and a bocci club and family recreational area, as required by the local plan.

The plans also refer to a proposed public garden along Triq Santa Marija, outside the boundaries of the project. The latest plans include a catering establishment facing the garden.

Naxxar projects being assessed in isolation

The massive development at the trade fair is set to exacerbate development pressures in this area.

The Planning Authority is also considering a 113-apartment block built over nine floors and a supermarket on the site of the former trade fair’s car park. The project proposed by SPTT Properties Limited is expected to create 2,350 new car trips from and towards the new development. 64 apartments and seven penthouses are also being proposed on a field by Pjazza Celsi.

Despite the incremental impact of the three projects on Naxxar residents, the environmental impact of each project is being assessed separately.

The Environment and Resources Authority has already concluded that the nine-storey block proposed on the trade fair’s car park does not require an Environment Impact Assessment.  

Air quality studies for this project quoted in the ERA report show no significant impact on air quality resulting from this particular project. But these studies do not take into account the impact of the trade fair and Pjazza Celsi developments.