Sliema residents renew appeal for PA to prevent demolition of 150-year-old house

Residents, NGOs and the local council have renewed their objection to the demolition of a 150year-old two-storey house in St Mary Street, Sliema.

An application was filed in 2016 for the building of a three-star hotel that would replace a two-storey house, which was built in 1861.

It is understood that the facade of the house would remain as is, however the back would be demolished and give rise to an eight-floor pencil development, the tallest in the entire street.

Residents whose home touches upon the proposed development have genuine concerns about the lack of natural light, especially in view of the similar “monstrosity” that has been developed to the right of their home.

St Mary Street is a rarity in that many of the historic buildings have been preserved due to the Urban Conservation Policy. For reasons unbeknown to Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar the site was removed from the Urban Conservation Policy area, and it therefore questioned under what criteria has the area been removed and whether the PA was thinking long-term when faced with ever increasing development applications.

Joseph Camilleri and his wife Maria-Antonia were mainly concerned that the eight storeys that would be raised right above their residence would cause damage to their property. They expressed concern with the level of activity in the residential street, the lack of parking which is already a major problem for the area, and more than that it is the lack of natural light that is sure to have a detrimental effect on their property and garden.

Other residents who reside in the vicinity of the proposed development relayed similar concerns. The residents, mostly elderly, questioned whether they have a right to peace and quiet within their own homes. Some have lived in the area for over 70 years, and expressed utter heartache at the lack of safety and security.

The Planning Authority was supposed to take a decision last month regarding whether to give the green light for the development application, however, following the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage’s objection and objections from a further 40 people, the decision was delayed to 1 March.

The delay was put in place in order for the applicant to respond to the objections and amend his final application, however FAA, in a press conference which took place yesterday afternoon, informed the press that the application was resubmitted in its original form.

Astrid Vella from FAA stressed that the residents were being stripped of their basic rights such as access to natural light, right to peace and quiet and the right to place solar panels on their roofs in order to benefit from government schemes and lower utility panels.

FAA together with the residents urged the PA, despite the case officers’ recommendation to develop, to reconsider and prevent another historical building from being lost.