Plans for hotel on Saqqajja hill conditionally approved

A hotel on Saqqajja hill, partly replacing the site of the Tattingers club, has been conditionally approved by the Planning Authority.

The 81-room hotel plan received a non-executable permit, which will only be confirmed if the necessary geological studies, as well as others on the area, permit the development.

The site is located outside the development zone boundary of Rabat and in the vicinity of Mdina, approximately 100m from the bastion behind Vilhena Palace, and resides at a corner between the main roads t-Telgħa tas-Saqqajja and Triq l-Infetti.

The development is located within an Urban Conservation Area for Rabat, with most of the site situated within an Outside Development Zone (ODZ) Category 1 Settlement boundary, known as ‘Tal-Qanpiena’, while a small section extends over onto agricultural land. The site is also designated as an Area of High Landscape Value of Mdina within a Degree of Protection A Area of Archaeological Importance featuring various ancient city of Melite remains dating from the Bronze Age.

In terms of architecture, the proposal will take the place of 4 separate buildings which currently range from residential developments, ground floor commercial and industrial garages, and the ‘Tattingers’ discotheque.

This full development application proposes the demolition of the existing developments, excavation works and construction of a 5-star hotel comprising of 81 guest bedrooms proposed over 4 terraced floors and 1 receded floor level.

Heritage and environment NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and Moviment Graffitti condemn the Planning Authority decision, saying the site is partly within the Area of Archaeological Importance of Rabat and Mdina (Class A scheduling), in the Urban Conservation Area of Mdina immediately in front of the scheduled fortifications around the historic city of Mdina and partly Outside Development Zone.

In spite of being modified, the massing and increased heights of this building within the Area of High Landscape Value of Mdina, will still have a massive visual impact on the entrance to Rabat and Mdina, obliterating Mdina’s bastions from the main approach to Rabat/Mdina.

The eNGOs are extremely concerned about what will happen when the buildings are pulled down and the rock cutting starts within the glacis of the scheduled (Grade 1) Fortifications of Mdina, which are notoriously unstable. In spite of a recent major project to shore them up, the extensive excavations proposed pose a serious threat on the stability of the bastions.