Robert Abela’s Villa Rosa show leaves ministers uncomfortable

Robert Abela persuaded ministers to support a Cabinet proposal to change the Villa Rosa local plan despite several expressing strong misgivings, MaltaToday has learnt. 

Ministers who were granted anonymity to be able to speak freely about confidential matters said they were baffled by the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm for the proposal. 

“The proposal flies in the face of what we as a government have been saying about the need to change direction on the environment in the aftermath of the June European election result,” a minister said. 

It also goes counter to what the Prime Minister has been saying that local plans cannot be changed on a whim, the minister added. 

The Cabinet decision for a partial review of the North Harbour local plan was first leaked to the Times of Malta last week, causing public backlash. 

“I was not surprised by the negative feedback because people are sceptical of our actions when it comes to development,” the minister said. 

The proposed changes will facilitate a high-rise development proposed by Garnet Investments, a company owned by Anton Camilleri known as Tal-Franċiż and his son Adelbert Camilleri. 

Developer Anton Camilleri, also known as 'Il-Franċiż'

In 2018, the Camilleri obtained a planning permit to develop the Villa Rosa site and adjacent properties into a mixed-use development of low-lying buildings. The project never started and in 2022, Camilleri applied for a new permit that included high-rise buildings. 

The latest proposal is still to be decided by the Planning Authority. 

The Environmental Impact Assessment prepared by ERSLI Consultants on behalf of Garnet Investments and published last year refers to local plan policies that limit building heights of hotels to six storeys and an overlying penthouse stepped down to two floors in the area adjacent to St George’s Bay and the Villa Rosa gardens. 

However, the Villa Rosa project is also being proposed under the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels, approved in 2014, which permits “standalone hotels” to rise above height limits. In this way, the two towers hosting the 789 serviced apartments will benefit from this policy. 

Piecemeal changes 

It would appear that the only reason Abela is pushing for a change in the local plan is to stifle any potential legal challenges based on the differences between the parameters laid down in the local plan and the 2014 hotels policy. 

This of course raises the question as to whether planning policies should change in a piecemeal fashion to accommodate certain developers, a second Cabinet member said. 

The minister added: “Despite the local plans, according to existing policies the new high-rise Villa Rosa development can still take place, so why go out of our way to facilitate the developer and risk public backlash?” 

But a third minister told MaltaToday the changes as explained to them would allow the developer to go higher and thus freeing up more open space at ground level. 

“I believe the changes could be beneficial but government has a credibility problem and anything we do that benefits developers is automatically viewed with suspicion, especially when we are not forthcoming with information on decisions like these,” the minister said. 

Rowing in circles 

A fourth minister said they reluctantly supported the Cabinet proposal because it was presented to them as a fait accompli. “The proposal was put forward by Clint Camilleri as planning minister but when you have the Prime Minister eulogising the benefits of the project you have to toe the line despite voicing your concern,” they said. 

Nonetheless, the minister acknowledged the proposal to change the Villa Rosa local plan “sends the wrong message” at a time when the government is trying to prioritise quality of life issues. 

Yet another minister sarcastically commented: “It is true there will be a public consultation process because it is required at law but we all know that someone drives the cart.” 

They did not mince their words when asked how this decision reconciles with the ‘greener’ direction Abela has been pushing for in the wake of the June election outcome: “I don’t think there is any direction and that is the problem. We are rowing in circles.” 

Palpable frustration 

Another minister shared their frustration with MaltaToday after seeing the backlash from environmental campaigners and residents to the Cabinet decision. 

“Several of us were uncomfortable with the Villa Rosa proposal, some spoke up and others said nothing, but we really had no choice but to tag along seeing the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm for the plans,” they said. 

The minister added the situation was symptomatic of Abela’s leadership and his style of “saying one thing and doing another”. 

“Ministers are at a loss on how to behave because even though they would be assured of the Prime Minister’s support when taking tough decisions, they cannot bank on him to have their backs when the going gets tough,” they said. 

The frustration with Abela among ministers is palpable, especially in a situation where the need to change the local plan for the specific site has no overriding public interest. 
“It seems we’ve learnt nothing from the June election,” the minister said in a resigned tone. 

What the Villa Rosa project is about 

Designed by Dutch firm UNStudio, the €305 million project will include two towers of 27 and 34 storeys rising above St George’s Bay. 

The towers will host 789 serviced apartments, 247 hotel rooms and 16,000sq.m of office space. 

The new plans have done away with low-rise buildings encircling the bay but retained a four-storey hotel on the Cresta Quay site and a commercial and residential development adjacent to Bay Street and on the Moynihan House site, which will be demolished. 

The plans have removed 15 villas in the valley, which ERA had objected to. 

In 2023, Anton Camilleri had justified the increased volumes of the project – with gross floor area rising from 141,000sq.m to 237,000sq.m – by referring to an 11,000sq.m ‘Pjazza Tritoni-size’ open square along the beach. 

The Villa Rosa Palazzo will be restored and a private garden around it landscaped with indigenous trees and shrubs. 

What the Villa Rosa EIA says on… 

Impact on economy 

Consultants E-Cubed say the project will generate €74.8 million in value added with an overall economic impact of €116.4 million. Investment in construction over five years will cost over €305 million, but over the next 65 years, the internal rate of return (IRR) will be of 10.78%. The need for serviced apartments for longer-stay tourists, digital nomads and retirees, a specific niche, are built on future projections of 3 to 3.2 million tourists annually, 24,000 of which will be hosted at Villa Rosa. 

Impact on the Palazzo 

The dominance of Palazzo Villa Rosa on the landscape will “be challenged by the presence of the two towers”. Excavations next to it and the underground Ħarq Ħammiem cave will be planned and managed in ways designed to “protect the integrity of the building and features in question”. Close attention will be needed to safeguard the integrity of the Palazzo and a tunnel underneath the garden. The level of significance of the impact would vary from “insignificant to high” depending on the quality of construction site management. 

Impact on cave 

The north-eastern corner of the Villa Rosa site is located close to the underground Għar Ħarq Ħammiem. But since the ceiling of the cave is located 23m below excavation level, the impact will be limited. EIA consultants recommended “a chainsaw cut to be made at the closest excavation line to introduce an air gap between the site to be excavated and the cave”. Works in vicinity of the cave will be continuously monitored during the works. The EIA concludes that the level of significance of the impact on the cave “would vary from insignificant to high depending on the quality of construction site management.” 

Construction waste 

Construction will take five years, with close to a year for demolition and excavation, which will generate 215,000cb.m of topsoil and limestone (lower coralline and lower globigerina), that is expected to be disposed in Anton Camilleri’s own quarry for potential re-use. 

Daily car trips 

In the excavation phase, five construction vehicles will be entering and exiting the site every hour on each working day, resulting in a maximum of 160 inbound and outbound heavy vehicle trips per working day. This will drop to 80 trips when the first phase of the project is completed. On completion, an additional 2,214 car trips will be generated by the offices and hotels on a daily basis, 55% of which by private cars while 45% will be generated by coaches, mini-buses, taxis, carpooling, and public transport. The development will include 1,365 parking spaces.