BOV’s five-storey Santa Venera block 'out of scale', watchdog says

A planned five-storey office block by Bank of Valletta on Santa Venera’s main road has been described as “out of scale” by the cultural heritage watchdog.

The proposed development is on an already demolished site on the St Joseph High Road, a street characterised by two-storey buildings.

The plans of the proposed development were not available to the public during the public consultation period, which has expired. They were only published on the Planning Authority website after MaltaToday enquired about them.

The development will consist of four levels of underground parking and the construction of five storeys of offices above it.

According to the application the development is intended to “house part of the bank’s operations”.

But the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has already shot down the proposed development, which it described as an “unacceptable intensification of development” which “will create a negative impact on the character of the streetscape within the Urban Conservation Area”.

Moreover, according to SCH the proposal will be “out of scale” with neighbouring developments and will create new blank party walls.

It also warned the construction of four-levels of underground parking will create stability problems for the neighbouring buildings.

The PA’s design advisory committee also called on the applicant to redesign the project in a way that is more in keeping with the character of the streetscape describing the current proposal as one which “jars with it and is out of scale”.

Unavailable external plans

The plans for the project were not available on the PA’s website. The period for public consultation during which the public could have sent representations was 16 September.

The external plans related to the project were only published on Wednesday following a request by this newspaper.

A PA spokesperson said the internal drawings of the building were not being made public because it is intended to house a banking operation.

A provision of the law exempts banks, airports and buildings related to national security from publishing such plans.

However, the authority then decided to publish the elevations showing the external facade of the building. The only information neighbours had was a site notice describing the development as “the construction of four levels of underground parking and construction of Class 4A offices above” and had no way to know how many floors were being proposed.

The site was previously occupied by an abandoned factory, which has been demolished. A permit issued in 2006 foresaw shops and basement garages and residential units at ground, first and second floors. The application was recommended for refusal but was still approved by the PA. Works were delayed by a court case initiated by neighbours claiming damage to the party wall, which abuts their property.

The permit granted to then owner Paul Grech was last renewed for another five years in October 2013. In the latest application the bank is listed as the sole owner of the site.