A further reduction in the overall height of a proposed new apartment block which is close to the Grade 1 Ta’ Kola windmill in Xaghra, has been requested by the Planning Board on Thursday.

In a statement, the Planning Board said that although the proposed building is well below the maximum height limitation for the area and is “not going to have a significant impact on the windmill,” the Board “vigilantly also requested the applicant to recede the upper floor to neutralise the creation of blank party walls.”Additionally to this, the applicant was requested to slightly amend the design of the façade to make it more “homogenous” with the existing streetscape and properties in the surrounding piazza area.

The proposed residential block includes 2 ground-floor garages, an overlying maisonette and six apartments at first, second and third-floor levels.

The Board deferred the case until the revised drawings are submitted and evaluated.

1,800 objections were generated against the application which is to build a block of 24 apartments overlooking Ggantija World Heritage Site.The SCH initially emphasised that “the site in question is within Ggantija Area of Archaeological Importance and within 30m of the Grade 1 Mithna Ta’ Kola. The site is also within 260m of Ggantija World heritage Site. Any development that may eventually be approved at this location is not to negatively impact the perception of the scheduled windmill or Ggantija.”

However, seven months later, the Superintendence declared that “the photomontages do not indicate that the proposed development will have a significant impact on the perception of the scheduled windmill.”

Photos: Planning Authority

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