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James Debono
Just as everyone’s attention was gripped by the new development zones which will extend building zones sideways, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has issued a public consultation earmarking 20 Maltese localities deemed suitable for medium and high-rise development.
The document entitled ‘A Planning Policy on the use and applicability of the Floor Area Ratio’, issued in May, is now being put to the public for its comments to be submitted by 6 June.
High-rise development of more than 11 floors is envisaged in nine specific sites in Marsa, Pembroke, Sliema, Tigné, Malta International Airport, Gzira, Qawra and Ricasoli – the earmarked for the SmartCity@Malta project.
The entire urban belt consisting of Swieqi, St Julian’s, San Gwann, Msida, Sliema, Birkikara, Qormi, Paola, Fgura and Zabbar has been identified for medium-rise developments, which will rise from between 6 to 10 floors in areas where current height limitations limit development to 3 to 5 floors.
Other localities deemed suitable for medium rise development are the low laying parts of Mosta, Tas-Sellum, Mosta, Marsascala, Qawra and Xemxija .
Kick-starting the economy
Vertical development in 20 localities, coupled with the extension of development zones in the rest of the island, provides a perfect recipe for a construction boom which could kick-start the economy.
Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson Harry Vassallo has however questioned the need for high-rise development. The Green party leader said Malta had a stock of 98,300 plots within existing building schemes as well as 23,000 permanently vacant properties. “When one considers this do we really need more construction?” asks Vassallo.
Vertical development is mostly concentrated in those areas where there is little prospect for horizontal development. MEPA chairman Andrew Calleja acknowledges that the two exercises are complimentary but insists the sites indicated for high-rise development are “strategic and few in number.”
The declared aim of MEPA’s exercise is to direct developers to present applications for medium and high-rise development in a restricted number of localities and to avoid applications in zones deemed unsuitable for such development.
“High-rise or medium rise buildings are already a reality and it is time that the Structure Plan policy is substantiated so that development is better guided,” Calleja said.
High-rise effects
MEPA has defined tall and medium-rise buildings in relation to existing height limitations which had been set for each locality in the 1988 building schemes and in local plans.
But village cores, Gozo and areas obstructing historical views like Mdina, have been excluded from the new development, following a public consultation document on the use and applicability of the floor area ratio.
If the document is approved, applications for six-floor buildings will be considered in Birkirkara, Qormi, Paola, Swieqi, Mosta, Fgura and Zabbar where present height limitation statutes limits development to 3 floors. Applications will also be considered in low laying part of Mosta and a significant portion of Marsaskala and the Sellum area in Mellieha, which houses a number of luxury apartments.
In Msida, Qawra and Xemxija, where development is presently limited to 4 floors, medium-rise development of 8 floors will be considered.
In San Gwann, where building is limited to anything from two to 5 floors depending on the zone where development takes place, MEPA proposed extending the limitation to anything between 6 to 10 floors.
Three areas, namely the Pembroke Business Park, Marsa park, and an area around the old Gzira stadium, are earmarked for high-rise office development. MEPA has defined high-rise as any building twice the height limitations for the locality in which it is situated, and any building higher than 11 floors.
The existing height limitation in Gzira is four floors although MEPA has already issued a high-rise permit for the redevelopment of the Gasan showroom in Gzira. The height of the new Pembroke Business Park is still to be defined. A MEPA spokesperson said this site will be subject to a development brief which should set out the heights for this area.
Qawra, Paceville, Tigné and the Sliema town centre are also identified for tourism related high-rise development.
At present the height limitation in Qawra is 4 floors. In Paceville heights vary from 4 to 6 floors although MEPA has already approved the Hilton Tower. A development brief has already identified Pender Place as a site for high-rise development.
In Tigné, the Fort Cambridge development brief already foresees a 16-floor tower which is set to accompany high-rise development in the MIDI project, where the maximum height allowed is 22 floors.
The Luqa airport is also envisioned for commercial high-rise development but its height has to be limited to about 10 floors (35 metres) due to safety reasons.
Unsurprisingly, the MEPA document also indicates Ricasoli, the site for the new Smart City development, as an area with potential for high-rise development.
But MEPA does not endorse Ricasoli as a strategic location for tall buildings, as a final decision on its designation as a regeneration area has not been taken.
The Grand Harbour Local Plan, approved in 2002, does not envision any high-rise development in Ricasoli. A development brief for Fort Ricasoli published in 1997 also states that development “should not disrupt the visual continuity of the harbour and the fortified works.”
Going up!
High and medium-rise development is an effective tool for ensuring efficient use of land says MEPA but AD chairperson Harry Vassallo disagrees by saying that existing demand for housing can be satisfied by existing building stocks.
According to the MEPA high-rise buildings can act as landmarks to help to make the form of urban areas legible and signal the hubs and gateways of urban. High-rise developments can also provide floor space in strategically desirable locations.
“When designed as first rate works of architecture, they can also serve as catalysts for regeneration and stimulate further investment, even from international companies,” the MEPA spokesperson told MaltaToday.
MEPA has also insisted there is no link between the current demand for housing and high rise development. “The Floor Area Ratio policy does not involve an increase in floor space but an alternative way of designing the same amount of floor space.”
Harry Vassallo said that if some high-rise development was really necessary it should be zoned in a particular area rather than interspersed in different sites throughout the island.
He also says that high-rise development is not efficient in energy use and has a significant impact on the country’s infrastructure. “A high rise building has little potential for tapping solar energy due to the poor ratio between the size of the roof and the rest of the building but it can also rob the sunlight from nearby buildings.”
But according to MEPA the design and construction of innovative tall buildings can help in the development of building and environmental technology.
A number of mayors of localities directly affected by the new plans were not even aware of this document when contacted by MaltaToday. The Pembroke local council, the site of the proposed business park, will be discussing the new plans next week.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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