Townsquare developers are sending leaflets to residents

The Townsquare developers are posting leaflets to Tigne' and Qui-si-sana residents, informing them that an office will be open near Union Club for any queries and information on the 'approved' project.

This type of public relations campaign is uncalled for, especially when the project is subject to an appeal after submissions by Sliema Local Council, the Environment and Resources Authority, Din l-Art Helwa, FAA and associated ENGOs. Coincidentally, the first hearing of the appeal will take place on Thursday 10 November, 2pm at the EPRT in Floriana.

In the run up to the PA board meeting on the proposed development, the Townsquare developers never took up the Sliema Local Council proposal to hold a public meeting with residents and with the participation of the local council.

Post-Townsquare Reflections

Michael Briguglio Malta Today 8 August 2016 

Yesterday was a sad day for my hometown Sliema: The Townsquare 38-storey highrise project was approved by the Planning Authority.  

It was a close call, as 6 board members (out of 13 who were present) voted against. And this included PA Chairman Vince Cassar, who I know as a  man of integrity. Victor Axiak, the representative of the Environment and Resources Authority was absent due to illness.  The Nationalist Party representative Ryan Callus also voted against, unlike Labour's representative Joe Sammut. 

Again, I know Callus to be an upright and honest politician, and from what I saw and sensed, he showed alot of courage in voting the way he did. 

The Sliema Local Council - of which I am a member on behalf of the Greens - objected to this proposal, through its PN-led majority, and notwithstanding the total silence from Labour councillors. Needless to say, environmental NGOs, AD and the newly-formed PD were also objecting to this proposal.

But environmental campaigns are never simply characterized by the final PA meeting. And neither are they simply decided on the grounds of lack or insufficient analysis, though Townsquare had a surplus of this.

Empirical sociological, anthropological and political research and analyses on environmental campaigns in Malta show that there are a plurality of factors which have an effect on environmental outcomes. 

These include lobbying, mobilization through protest and media sensitization, official and unofficial meetings, and political/social movement alliances. When alliances involve ENGOs, local councils and at least 2 political parties (big+big or big+small), these are usually more predisposed to have an impact. Impacts can vary from victories (e.g. Front Kontra l-Golf Kors; Munxar, Cement Plant; Wied Ghomor and many others in between) to huge mobilization and partial impacts (e.g. Save Zonqor). When both major parties do not support a campaign, it becomes very difficult to obtain victory (the referendum on hunting being a case in point).

In the case of Townsquare, what struck me most was the PN strategy, which worked in the hands of the Gasan developers and the Labour Government. 

Indeed, the PN leadership was conspicuous by its silence on this issue - and here we are speaking of Tigne', a PN stronghold  in blue Sliema.  Whether the silence was intentional or cynical is something that can never be proven.

If it really paid heed to Sliema residents above developers' proposals, and if it really wanted the project to be defeated, the PN leadership could and should have mobilized its supporters in the run up to the PA meeting, in support of the local council and emvironmentalists. But it did not. 

My hunch is that Simon Busuttil will try to bank on residents' anger during excavation and construction. If this is the case, we will have a clear case of poor judgement, cynical politics, and of speaking too late in the day. 

Townsquare and Mriehel are just the beginning in a series of highrise developments in Malta. And this takes us to the political economy of the environment. As Portomaso had shown us back in 1998, and as has been confirmed so many times since then, a symbiotic relationship exists between the state and big developers.

Developers provide economic growth and other incentives; The State provides policy and operational support. This is done at the expense of the environment and people's quality of life. 

Who said the environment is not political? 

Picture: Pre-Townsquare Sliema

Sliema protest against Townsquare Skyscraper proposal

SLIEMA RESIDENTS

WE NEED YOU – JOIN US!

George Bonello Dupuis Gardens, Qui-si-Sana, Sliema, 6pm, 
Wednesday 22^nd June 2016.

Stand up and be counted! Join us to protest the proposed TownSquare 38-storey development in Qui-si-Sana.

This project and its sham impact assessment are an insult to everyone who lives, works or visits the area.

Official studies show that Townsquare will require 10 months of excavation, 4 years of construction, and, together with Fort Cambridge, will bring an increase of 6,000 cars daily in the area.  

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1740405936249194/

The protest is a citizens' initiative organized by residents.

Please share

See also: 

Townsquare decision to be taken on 23 June. Link: 

http://sliemanews.blogspot.com.mt/2016/06/townsquare-skyscraper-decision-on-23.html

An additional 6000 cars daily, 10 months excavation, 4 years construction - Townsquare

James Debono

14 June 2016, Malta Today

Sliema’s 38-storey Townsquare project recommended for planning approval

PA’s planning directorate to call on board to approve Townsquare tower in view of new policies on building heights earmarking Tigné as ‘cluster of tall buildings’. The Planning Authority's planning directorate is recommending the approval of a 38-storey tower in Sliema next to Villa Drago proposed by the Gasan Group, against a 'planning gain' they have to pay of €266,314 to fund traffic management and urban improvement projects. 

A final decision will be taken in a public meeting set for next week. The meeting will be held  on 23 June at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

The Townsquare tower will comprise 159 residential units, 4,719 square metres of offices, 8,241 sq.m. of commercial space and 748 parking spaces as well as the restoration of Villa Drago.

The case officer acknowledged that the project will break the Sliema skyline but said the PA’s policy on tall buildings approved in 2014 now identifies the Tigné area as “a cluster of tall buildings.”

“The visual assessment should be considered in relation to the prospective skyline of the area as a cluster of high buildings,” the case officer said.

The PA’s design advisory committee is chaired by PA official and planner Dr David Mallia but also includes Portomaso architect Ray Demicoli, who himself has prepared plans for the neighbouring 40-storey tower proposed by GAP in Tigné, and historian Dr Charlene Vella.

Indeed, Townsquare is being approved as part of a cluster of tall buildings whose impact is yet to be assessed by the PA.

The PA’s design advisory committee also deemed the tower which will dominate the Sliema skyline as “one aspiring to achieve high quality development in the middle of Sliema.”

The case officer said the tower would have a greater impact on land use if the area is developed according to the traditional style of apartment blocks, than if it was developed using the floor area ratio which promotes taller buildings on condition that more open space around them is created.

Townsquare will include a central plaza and underground car park, with an entrance from Hughes Hallet Street and an underground link under Triq Qui-Si-Sana.

The project’s environmental impact assessment said it expected residents in the area to keep windows shut to minimise noise during the excavation, which will take 10 months, and construction, which will take four years.

The Environment and Resources Authority expressed concern on the visual impact of the project. While the EIA consultants commissioned by the Gasan Group warned that the project would have a major impact when seen from Tower Road and from the Preluna Hotel, the ERA contends that the project would also have a major impact when seen from Manoel Island and the Valletta ferry landing.

It also expressed concern on the results of a scanline geological survey, which warned of the “potential collapse of excavation”. This impact is described as “uncertain” in the EPS.

The ERA is calling for more “precise details”, adding that a conclusive assessment on this issue could only be made when these details are submitted to the Planning Authority.

As far as plans go, a 40-storey tower being proposed on top of the Fort Cambridge officers’ mess is set to become Malta’s tallest tower block. Together with Townsquare, the two projects together will result in an additional daily 6,000 vehicles passing from the area.

If approved the two Sliema towers will be higher than any other building in Malta, surpassing by far the Portomaso tower, which is 23 floors. Not very far away, the Metropolis development in Gzira is set to rise to 33 floors.  A 40 storey tower is also being proposed next to Mercury House in Paceville.

PA MEETING TO DECIDE ON PROJECT - THURSDAY 23 JUNE - CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

For Further Information about the Townsquare Skyscraper Project, please click here and scroll downwards.

A few metres up the road, another skyscraper is being proposed, at Fort Cambridge, in violation of Government's development brief.

Both projects are being rushed so as to avoid a temporary cessation on highrise development before a national holistic plan on such development is carried out, despite calls for this by Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party (2010-), Partit Demokratiku (2016), Civil Society Network (2016), ENGOs and Change.Org petition (2016).

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Sliema tower: ‘Unreasonable’ to expect residents to keep windows closed during construction

Environment and Resources Authority expresses concerns on noise and visual impacts

James Debono - Malta Today   17 May 2016

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/65284/sliema_tower_unreasonable_to_expect_residents_to_keep_windows_closed_during_construction?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#.VzxF2Wh97IU

“Keeping windows shut” during the construction of a Sliema tower to avoid having to listen to the noise from a new phase of intensive development is “unreasonable”, the Environment Resources Authority said.

Its comment came in a reaction to an environmental planning statement (EPS) submitted way back in 2012 by consultants of the proposed Townsquare project in Sliema, which will erect a 38-storey tower behind Villa Drago.

The ERA has noted that the impact, played down somewhat in the EPS as ‘short term’, would be indeed significant because excavation will take 10 months and construction four years, in an already densely populated area that surrounds the proposed tower.

This concern was already expressed by the Environment Protection Directorate back in 2012 and reiterated in a report sent to the Planning Authority by the ERA last week.

Former environment minister Mario de Marco had in 2012 also described the measure as “unreasonable”.

The building of the huge 38-storey tower proposed by the Gasan Group is set to have a dramatic impact on views enjoyed by pedestrians strolling along Ghar id-Dud, the Sliema promenade, apart from breaking the skyline when viewed from as far away as Rinella Bay in Kalkara.   
The ERA expressed concern on the visual impact of the project. While the EPS consultants, which are commissioned by the Gasan Group, warned that the project would have a major impact when seen from Tower Road and from the Preluna Hotel, the ERA also contends that the project would also have a major impact when seen from Manoel Island and the Valletta ferry landing.  

It also expressed concern on the results of a scan line geological survey, which warned of the “potential collapse of excavation”.
This impact is described as “uncertain” in the EPS.

The ERA is calling for more “precise details”, adding that a conclusive assessment on this issue could only be made when these details are submitted to the Planning Authority.

The scan line study conducted to assess unstable rock wedges and slabs in the margin of the development, warns of potential earth movements along the walls of the excavation.

The project would involve the excavation of 109,251 cubic metres of rock. The amount of rock, which will have to be deposited in a licensed quarry, will amount to 8% of the average amount deposited on an annual basis.

The ‘Dubai-fication’ of the Sliema skyline is in full swing, with two newly proposed towers fighting for the honour of becoming Malta’s tallest buildings.  As far as plans go, a 40-storey tower being proposed on top of the Fort Cambridge officers’ mess is set to become Malta’s tallest tower block.

If approved the two Sliema towers will be higher than any other building in Malta, surpassing by far the Portomaso tower, which is 23 floors. Not very far away, the Metropolis development in Gzira is set to rise to 33 floors.

The Townsquare project, which includes the premises of the former Union Club and the scheduled Villa Drago, which is to be restored, dates back to 2005 when an application was presented to construct a shopping hall, residential units and an underground car park on this site.
The Tigné peninsula, which already includes the 17-storey high Fortina Hotel and the 20-storey high Fort Cambridge apartment blocks is one of the six localities where tall buildings can be developed.

But architects Mireille Fsadani and Wendy Jo Attard have warned in a report presented to the Planning Authority that Tigné is within the buffer zone and immediate context of Valletta “and a significant change in its character will severely affect that of Valletta itself – highly threatening its World Heritage status.”

The report warns that the World Heritage status is not an “automatic right” but can be revoked, as was about to happen to Cologne’s Cathedral following the proposal of a high-rise building in its vicinity.

Photomontages show impact of proposed Sliema tower

Developer's photomontage does not include other skyscraper proposed development in the area

Times of Malta 13 May 2016

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160513/local/photomontages-show-impact-of-proposed-sliema-tower.611871

Recent released photomontages visualise for the first time the impact of the proposed 38-storey Town Square tower on the Sliema skyline.

Last June, the tower was included in the project for the redevelopment of the old Union Club site as part of the application which has been pending with the Planning Authority since 2005.

PA records show that over 300 representations against the proposal were submitted to the authority since the tower proposal was made public last summer.

The proposal includes excavation of the site, the construction of an underground car park and service facilities, a number of low rise buildings, food and beverage outlets, a pedestrianised mixed development of retail and office outlets, and residential units.

According to the submitted documents, the total built volume will reach 54,888 square metres on a footprint of 9,237 square metres. Forty thousand square metres will be dedicated to residential areas, over 5,000 square metres will host offices, while a retail and piazza will cover a volume of close to 9,500 square metres.

Construction would take 54 months

Villa Drago, included in the site, is indicated to cater for retail as well as for food and beverage outlets. The villa, a scheduled Grade 1 monument built in 1881, will be refurbished and recent additions will be removed.

If the development is approved, it is estimated the construction works would take 54 months.

Last year, the Sliema local council objected to the development, with one of its main concerns being traffic generation.

The council warned that there was no way to improve the road network to accommodate the increased traffic that would be generated in the area.

In a representation to the planning watchdog, Sliema council had said that “by 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”.

Studies indicated that, even without the project, the current traffic flow of 1,868 cars during the afternoon peak hour would reach 2,379 in 2017.

Din L-Art Ħelwa too has objected to the proposals, identifying traffic, air quality and density as key problems in the area: “All these factors and daily lives are definitely not to be improved but only worsened by a project of this scale.”