New commercial car park proposed in Qui-Si-Sana

An outline permit application was presented by George Muscat, owner of the 20 storey Fort Cambridge development, in December. 

Contacted by MaltaToday, Muscat insisted that the aim of the car park was to alleviate parking problems in Sliema and that this would benefit shops located in the town centre. “There couldn’t be a better location for a car park,” Muscat said.

This is because the car park will be accessible for traffic coming from St Julian’s. Access to the car park is also facilitated by the new roundabout (which was approved by MEPA a few months ago) which faces Fort Cambridge.

Muscat claims the development will help shops in the area. “The location is ideal as it is cut off from the residential area and is located in the periphery but is still within easy reach of the town centre.”

He also made it clear that there will be no change in elevation of the area which he describes as a “vast unused space”. The roof level of the car park will be landscaped. The car park will not include ancillary development.

The Fort Cambridge development approved by MEPA in 2008 already includes four levels of underground parking to cater for the needs of the new residents.  “We have more than enough parking space for Fort Cambridge,” Muscat told MaltaToday.

But the development of a car park is not envisioned in the development brief for Fort Cambridge, which regulates development in the area. It describes the glacis area as “an integral and important part of the Fort structure” and recommends that the space should be sensitively landscaped to provide additional public open space for the residents of Tigné.

“The use of the open, green area adjacent to the Qui-Si-Sana Gardens will enhance the overall quality of public realm in Tigné,” the brief states.

The local plan for Sliema had originally envisaged a car park under the Qui-Si-Sana Gardens. This project was shelved due to opposition by residents who objected to the car park as well as to the commercial development proposed with it.

Another car park proposed at Ghar id-Dud was shelved due to its impact on the caves beneath.

The need for a car park at Qui-Si-Sana is emphasised in the North Harbour Local Plan, according to which the need for off-street car parking to serve the town centre will increase due to the removal of on-street parking in Bisazza Street and the Strand, and the introduction of resident parking zones.

Only last week MEPA approved the partial pedestrianisation of Bisazza street which will see the removal of on street parking along the road. The local plan states that Qui-Si-Sana is well located as a car park for access to shops in the town centre.

A smaller car park at Qui-Si-Sana is also being proposed by the government to offset the loss of 80 parking spaces due to the development of the Gnien Bonello De Pius.