A planning application for the proposed development of a four-star hotel along the Pieta Seafront has been turned down by the Planning Authority Board, saying that it would be “too imposing.”

The Board cited that the proposed development will negatively impact the sensitive historical buildings in the vicinity of the site, most prominently the scheduled Villa Frere and its gardens and St.Luke’s Hospital.

It was also noted that the scale, volume and massing of the hotel building will “dominate the environs and compromise the historical residential townscape of Pieta.”

It had been proposed that the hotel be built instead of a cluster of houses located along Triq ix-Xatt in Pieta, facing the historic bastions of Floriana.

The PA explained that one of the houses is scheduled as a Grade 2 building, while one of the other houses leads onto Giardino Zammitello which is a large historical garden and is part of the proposed site.

Following consultation with various entities, the Authority said that the application then got revised to include the restoration and preserve Giardino Zammitello, which garden is divided into 2 sections; the Giardino chiuso and the larger garden area.

The development would have included 149 bedrooms, ancillary areas, an underground multi-level car park, offices, a restaurant, a business centre, a spa and gym and an outdoor pool.

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