New Chambray designs approved

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) Board today approved a revised outline permit for the re-organisation of the building layout and urban form of the western part of Fort Chambray

Following this approval, the commercial area of the project, which included the construction of a hotel on the Fort's perimeter, protruding onto Mgarr Harbour, has now been relocated to the center of the Fort, adjacent to the Knight's Barracks.

As part of this relocation the British Barrack Block, which had been approved to be annexed to the same hotel, will be dismantled and its façade will be reconstructed as part of the new relocated hotel. These modifications were endorsed by both the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and the Superintendent of Fortifications who noted that these new plans were a marked improvement and will give greater appreciation of the historical fort.

The arcades on the facade of the British Barrack Block will be reconstructed adjacent to the Knight's Block, which itself has arcades that had been added to it by the British. This redesign will allow a better appreciation of the arcades due to their continuation from one building to the next.

The new layout will also incorporate a central piazza which has been designed to have the polverista as the main focal point.

The Board commended the applicant and his consultants for the sterling work they put into redesigning the development to holistically achieve a higher quality and a more sensitive development product, even though they were in possession of a valid planning permit. The Board also positively noted that the applicant will continue with the extensive restoration works that this 18^th Century Fort requires.

The Mepa Board also approved the construction of a 'village' for the elderly on a site which is outside the development zone (ODZ) but which was formerly used for industrial purposes as a pre-cast concrete manufacturing plant, in an area  known as Ta' Simblija, limits of Naxxar. An outline permit for this project had been granted by the Planning Appeals Board, which is independent from MEPA, who back in 2000, had overturned the decision taken by the then Development Control Commission.

This project will include the development of residential accommodation consisting of a main nursing home, semi-independent and fully independent units and a number of recreational facilities, including a health spa, indoor and outdoor pools, a hobby centre, an open-air amphitheatre, small shops and a salon, a restaurant and a chapel. With the site being in an ODZ area, the MEPA Board requested that the applicant submit an extensive landscaping plan for the outdoor areas of the project.

The Board also obliges the applicant to enter into a public deed to ensure that the sole use of the property will remain that of a retirement home.