Updated | Villa Rosa project set to overburden Regional Road

A Traffic Impact Assessment for the redevelopment of the Villa Rosa site in St Julian's, through the development of new residential and business facilities indicates that the traffic loads generated by the project will require a modification of junctions linking Regional Road with Paceville and Pembroke.

The project foresees the redevelopment of the St George’s Bay Hotel site which will be excavated in order to construct an underground car park for 1,195 cars, together with luxury apartments, a boutique hotel, 15 villas, offices, and commercial outlets of different types.

The massive scale of the development required the preparation of a traffic impact statement (TIS) which had to establish whether the existing road infrastructure has the capacity required to absorb such a project.

Plans to upgrade Regional Road were only approved by MEPA last year, but the scale of the Villa Rosa development has already rendered the plans obsolete.

The study found that the design of the planned junctions linking St Julian's, Paceville, and Pembroke to Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli (Regional Road) and St Andrew's Road need modification in order for their capacities to be increased, given that the traffic loads along St Augustine Street, the St George's Bay road, and Ganado Street which feed these junctions would increase substantially during the peak hours.

This is one of the main conclusions of an Environment Planning Statement conducted to assess the impact of the project proposed by Garnet Investments.

Part of this site is currently occupied by a hotel, Dolphin House, which is currently used as a language school. The premises will be retained in a new, larger building, which will also incorporate another abandoned building, Moynihan House. A large cave known as Għar Ħarq Ħammiem is located underneath part of Moynihan House.

The area has been examined by geologists and geo-technical engineers, who are of the opinion that it is possible for a new building to be erected in the area as long as appropriate measures are taken.

Garnet Investmnets also intends to transform a beach concession, Cresta Quay, which lies on the other side of the St George's Bay next to the Paranga beach club, into a small, two-storey hotel without parking facilities. Instead, residents will be allocated parking facilities in the new Villa Rosa complex.

The EPS states that it will be the construction phase of the development that will generate the greatest impact on the environment, very closely followed by traffic generation and the take-up of land which is currently undeveloped.

The overall construction works are expected to take five years, a year of which would be needed for the demolition and excavation works for the underground parking facility.

“It is common knowledge that such works, plus the transport of excavated material are ‘bad neighbour’ activities which need to be well-managed in order to minimise their adverse impacts," the EPS reads.

The landscape and visual impact assessment are deemed to have a “high significance” - which means the area will change drastically. “Whether such an impact is positive, neutral or adverse would need to be debated, as opinions regarding such matters tend are subjective”.