MEPA to allow higher buildings on street corners

New policy proposing minimum size of bedrooms also paves the way for higher buildings in a number of cases

The new policy on building design issued for public consultation yesterday allows for “an element of flexibility” in the way building heights on corner sites are determined.

This can even result in a “height that exceeds allowable thresholds.”

The increase in building heights in corner sites is justified by the role of these buildings in giving “legibility to a street and neighbourhood.”

In such cases the increase in height will be compensated in setbacks on the lower floors. 

However when different height policies apply on either side of the corner building, the building must still step down from the higher frontage as foreseen in existing policies. 

This is done to prevent any overshadowing of the street with the lower frontage.

The new policy also refers to cases where a building located in a street already exceeds the height limitation applicable in the street.

When such a building is located in a street corner and is more than a floor higher than the adjacent building, the new policy allows the authority to approve additional floors on the lower building even if this means that it will rise higher than the limit imposed in the local plan.

Additional storeys over and above the existing height limitation may also be permitted when a building is fronted on both sides by already existing buildings, which are themselves higher than the existing height limitation.

The aim of these policies is to prevent blank party walls.

The new design policy also includes a generic exemption from height limitations for so called “landmark” non-residential buildings located on sea fronts and town centres.

The policy refers to “legitimate arguments” which justify rising above these height limitations. 

One case where MEPA can be flexible is when buildings serve to create “new high quality landmarks” within the “existing context.”

The height of individual floors may also be higher than that allowed by other policies when this serves to make non-residential buildings more functional or when the new building is adjacent to older buildings where individual floors are already higher than foreseen in existing policies.

The policy was issued for public consultation yesterday.

Through the new policy the minimum area for single bedrooms will increase to 55 square metres, the minimum area for double bedrooms will increase to 75 square metres, and the minimum size for triple bedrooms will increase to 115 square metres.

The policy was drafted by a work group chaired by architect Victor Sladen. The work group included four practising architects: Joseph Bondin, Christian Spiteri, and Colin Zammit, all of whom have pending applications for MEPA’s consideration. The working group included Perit Raphael Axiaq  a MEPA employee and architect Antoine Zammit  who was the lead Author of this document.

The group also included Environment and Planning Commission member Anna Maria Attard Montalto, Joseph Magro Conti of the Heritage Planning Unit, and engineer Joseph Farrugia.