Paceville high-rise developer wants €50,000 art donation for his project

Every time a high-rise project is approved by the Planning Authority, developers are obliged to make a planning contribution of €50,000 to an Artistic Fund administered by the Arts Council.

The fund is used for the creation of works of art in public open spaces undertaken by Maltese artists.

This standard condition was duly imposed on Paul Xuereb’s 33-storey PX Tower, which is sited in an area previously occupied by low-rise villas on the road leading to the Eden Cinemas.

But while the location of the works benefitting from this fund is at the discretion of the Arts Council, the PX architect wants to oblige the Council to spend this relatively small sum of money on the creation of works of art in the project’s public open space.

In a request for the reconsideration of this condition, the project’s architect argued that it is more “opportune that the artwork will adorn the development’s public open space.”

The case officer assessing this request has not objected, arguing that since “the funds would still be administered by the Arts Council”, the new condition is being favourably recommended

The reconsideration will be discussed in a planning hearing by the Planning Board on July 13, together with another request by Xuereb to amend the conditions of a €446,500 planning gain to be paid to the Planning Authority for urban improvement projects in St Julian’s.

The proposed amendment is for Xuereb to enter into an agreement with St Julian’s local council on the works carried out in the locality, to actually have the opportunity “to carry out the identified works in lieu of the payment”.

If an agreement with the council is not reached within 12 months from the date of the issue of the permit, the planning gain is still to be paid in full to the Planning Authority.

The case officer also agreed with this amendment, since a similiar condition has already been approved with regards to the ST Tower in Ta’ Xbiex and the Shoreline project in Kalkara.

The reconsideration of the permit conditions requested by the developer also corrects a mistake in the permit conditions which refers to Pembroke instead of St Julian’s as the beneficiary of the planning gain.