Husni Bey seeks renewal of 33-storey Gzira permit

Libyan businessman Husni Bey has applied to renew the permit for the development of his three high-rise towers in Gżira, asking to be given a fast-tracked summary procedure.

In a letter addressed to the Planning Authority, Bey’s architect Edwin Mintoff requested that the permit is renewed through the summary procedure since it “complies with all relevant applicable plans, policies and regulations.”

Renewal applications are listed in planning law among the kinds of developments which can be exempted from the full application process.

By law ‘summary’ applications are decided within 42 days, and determined within six weeks from the publication of the application.

But even when a developer files an application under the summary procedure, the PA can still choose to apply the full procedure. At law, this is done when representations are received within the consultation period and the chairperson of the Planning Board or his delegate deems such representations carry planning merits.

Project approved in breach of local plan policy

Last year photomontages of another tower development in the same area, proposed by developer Michael Stivala, suggested that the Metropolis project had been approved in breach of local plan policies NHSE 07 and NHSE 08.

The photomontages show Stivala’s proposed 17-floor tower ‘hidden’ by the yet-to-be-built Metropolis Tower when viewed from the University of Malta. But in the absence of the Metropolis – now a decade left undeveloped – the ST Tower sticks out like a sore thumb when seen from this protected view.

NHSE 08 clearly states the PA should “refuse development permission for any proposed development that is likely to have a detrimental effect on strategic view.” And  NHSE 07 lists four so-called “Strategic View Corridors” which are clearly identified in Map SE2 as “skylines that should not be significantly disrupted by new development, especially high buildings”.

One of the strategic views identified was the visual corridor linking the University of Malta site to Tignè Point, Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta.

The policy states that where “deemed necessary by the PA, applicants shall be required to provide photomontages in order to prove that the new development will not significantly disrupt the identified building planes and skylines”.

Yet despite these very specific policies, the Metropolis development was still approved despite its clear and definitive impact on this protected view. So far, apart from the excavation of a massive hole of circa 6,000sq.m, works on this development have not even commenced even if the permit is set to expire in September 2023.

A decade of nothing

Although the project was first approved in 2009, the only work done on the site was a 6,000sq.m hole at a depth of three to four storeys, for a prospective 500-space car park.

Originally, a 2009 permit allowed three towers of 13, 27 and 33 floors over a public piazza connecting Triq Enrico Mizzi and Triq Testaferrata. The development was to include 191 residential units, a health club, offices, retail outlets, a supermarket, and an underground car park.

The five-year permit was renewed in November 2013, and in November 2014 the PA allowed an increase in parking spaces, as well as increased office space from 4,600sq.m to 7,815sq.m, and to decrease the number of apartments to 110. The permit also included a helipad on one roof, and a communal outdoor swimming pool and deck area on the roof of another tower.

During the PA hearing of 2014, board chairman Vince Cassar had specifically enquired on the time-frames for commencement of works. Architect Edwin Mintoff replied that the tenders were ready and works were to commence “soon”.

In February 2020, an application to renew the permit was presented, but was subsequently withdrawn in April after the PA insisted on a full application procedure rather than just a summary procedure.

Just days before the 2015 local elections, prime minister Joseph Muscat officially laid the foundation stone for the high-rise – years after excavation had taken place – but since then the project has lain dormant.

The permit for the 33-storey Metropolis was extended to 2023 despite expiring in September 2020, thanks to planning rules allowing the extension of permits throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, prolonging the life of almost 20,000 development permits.