Heritage watchdog accepts three new floors on Sirdar House in St Julian’s

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has cleared the building of three new floors and a receded floor on top of Villa Sirdar in St Julian’s.

The building is earmarked for a hotel development proposed by the Zammit Tabona family which owns the property.

The townhouse which has a garden to its rear dates to the late 19th century and is located near the City of London pub.

The heritage watchdog had previously expressed concern at the intensity and the height of the proposed development.  Since then, the developers have lowered the height of the new building by one storey.

Moreover, following a site inspection, the Cultural Heritage watchdog has now concluded that the building is already compromised by the blank party wall of a neighbouring development.

While reiterating its view that the building has evident architectural value and warrants appropriate treatment, the SCH added that it is “constrained to note the compromised context around the townhouse”. The SCH concluded that it could consider an increase in height over Sirdar House, as this “will mitigate the effect of the adjacent blank party walls”.

Moreover, the cultural watchdog also noted a “significant evolution” in the project’s design including a lowering in overall heights and a design which is more “compatible with the existing property”.

The Superintendence also welcomed the retention of the existing façade and the fact that the vertical extension will be receded from the façade. But the SCH insisted on the  preservation of a greater extent of interior fabric, including the existing staircase.

The change of heart by the SCH clears a major stumbling block for the development of the proposed hotel which still requires the approval of the Planning Authority.

In its latest comments the SCH made no reference to the impact of the development on the rear garden which will be excavated to make way for a pool and a restaurant.

A streetscape plan presented by architect Edwin Mintoff shows that the new development will be slightly lower than the adjacent St George’s Villa on which five new floors were added in a series of permits issued between 2014 and 2020.

The site plan also refers to the “potential height” of the other adjacent townhouse, set between Villa Leoni and Sirdar House, on which no application had ever been presented.

This townhouse is presently one floor higher than Sirdar house. If approved the new hotel would be two floors higher than this townhouse.

The streetscape plan assumes that two new floors will be developed on this property. The streetscape plan also includes two extra floors on Villa Leoni, reflecting an appeals tribunal decision which limited development on this villa to two extra storeys.