This afternoon, the Planning Authority Board, following a long period of deliberation, approved planning permission for the redevelopment of the ex-Malta Union Club site in Sliema, to make way for what is known as the Town Square project.

The Authority said that the approved mixed use development project which will include Malta's tallest building to date, will include 159 residential units, 4,700m2 of office space, 8,200m2 of retail and catering space, a central public plaza and an underground carpark to cater for 748 parking spaces.

"The project not only provides the full parking requirement for the residential component but also includes a surplus of approximately 100 car parking spaces on site for the commercial component," the PA said.It added that in addition, the project includes the restoration and reuse of the protected Grade 1 Villa Drago building. "The villa will be given prominence and will become a feature of the main pedestrian open space in the overall design of the development. In fact, the prime pedestrian access to the main public plaza and other streets along the site will be through the villa's grounds fronting Tower Road."

"While over 50% of the entire site will be dedicated to open areas, the site will accommodate low buildings close to Villa Drago, maintaining the villa's scale and proportions. The buildings will then start to step up towards the middle of the site and around the main piazza with a significant increase in the building height towards the eastern part of the site where the 37 storey high rise tower will be developed. The shape of this tower will be radial in concept with its radius decreasing as it rises," the Authority said.Given the nature of the project, during the processing stage, the application was also assessed by the Design Advisory Committee, saying that the project "managed to address most of the challenges presented by the context of the urbanised site."

The Committee also commended the way "all the separate elements that constitute tall buildings are linked by a common thread of high quality design."

The Authority said that the application was subject to an Environmental Planning Statement (EPS) with several addendas also carried out to reflect the revisions to the development proposed, throughout the processing of this application.

The Planning Board imposed a planning gain of over €260,000 which funds, it said, will be utilised to financially support environmental improvement projects within the locality of Sliema.

Democratic Party statement

In a statement this evening, the new Democratic Party said that it "deplored the total disregard for the National Interest, manifested by the recent PA decisions to allow massive high-rise developments before a National Master plan which covers economic, infrastructural, social and cultural sustainability, was concluded, discussed and put up for electoral endorsement prior to implementation."

"The piecemeal monumental developments which received the green light to-day will inflict irreversible damage on our heritage skyline as well as on innumerable families, present and future, that will be directly and indirectly affected by these developments. The presence of these buildings will compromise any National Masterplan put forward in the future," the Party said

The Democratic Party concluded by saying that "once again, the PL Government is steering well away from its electoral manifesto impressions, while transforming our economy from a service economy which benefits the many, to a servant economy which benefits the few."

Planning Authority's photo montage of the approved project

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