Townsquare 38-storey highrise: Sliema Local Council sends objection to MEPA

No metro, no high-rise, Sliema council says


The council warned that there is no means of improving the road network to accommodate the increased traffic in the Qui-Si-Sana area.

James Debono
Malta Today
25 June 2015
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/54380/no_metro_no_highrise_sliema_council_says#.VY0jwMsw_xN

The Sliema local council has warned that “unless a metro is created,” the 38-storey tower next to Villa Drago should not be allowed.

The council warned that there is no means of improving the road network to accommodate the increased traffic in the Qui-Si-Sana area.

“With no stretch of the imagination can there be such a development without a radical upgrade of the infrastructure to access the area, such as by metro,” the council said in its representations sent to MEPA on the project.

According to a previous impact assessment when a 23-storey tower was proposed, traffic in the area was set to increase by 27,000 cars.

The council also expressed its doubts on the economic feasibility of the project, noting that several blocks in the area contain a considerable number of unsold apartments while other apartments are about to be put on the market by other projects. The council raised questions on the economic impact of having an over supply of properties and whether this could endanger Malta’s economic stability.

Moreover it also noted that the lack of planning in the area militates against attracting high net worth individuals to Malta.

“It is totally illogical to try to sell or rent apartments to high net worth individuals and then expect them to live adjacent to a construction site in view of lack of planning,” it argued.

It also warned that construction is bound to take years of excavations and will also involve transporting construction material to the site. This will have an enormous impact on the noise and dust levels and on traffic congestion in this major tourism spot.

The council also objected to the higher shading on neighbouring residents and on the Qui-Si-Sana foreshore and sea. The Environment Planning Statement for the original 23 storey proposal had warned that “the scheme will extend this impact (shading) further over the sea. It will also impact additional areas of the rocky foreshore at noon insofar as there will no longer be patches of sunshine.”