A Sliema street suited for six-storey buildings may get a hotel on 11 floors, environmental group warns

Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar says the Planning Authority is currently processing the application for an 11-storey hotel development in Triq Ġuże Howard, Sliema

Triq Guze Howard in Sliema
Triq Guze Howard in Sliema

The Planning Authority is processing an application for an 11-storey hotel development in Triq Ġuże Howard in Sliema, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar has warned.

The street, described by the NGO as "one of Sliema's narrowest streets", was identified as suitable for buildings that are six storeys high in the 2006 local plans.

However, FAA said that the 2014 policy that increased height limitations for hotels had allowed such developments to rise as much as they wanted. “Hotels were given a carte blanche to increase as many floors as they wanted. The same policy was used to justify the ITS monstrosity," the FAA said.

FAA blamed the hotels policy for a situation that could see 11-storey hotels being considered in narrow residential streets.

Photo montage showing the height of the proposed hotel (Photo: FAA)
Photo montage showing the height of the proposed hotel (Photo: FAA)

If the application is approved, the building will create a five-storey blank wall, which will put tenants living in adjacent buildings in constant darkness. According to the FAA “all natural light and air will be completely shut out”.

The NGO said that since Triq Ġuże Howard was just eight metres wide, the spirit of sanitarylLaws should be respected, and that developments should be limited to seven storeys.

It continued to express its contempt for that the fact that such a “fundamental piece of legislation aimed at ensuring the most basic levels of sanitary conditions was also stripped of its effectiveness when last revised in 2016”.

The FAA also noted that the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels, was introduced as a way for hotel owners to improve economic viability within the sector. But they said the PA failed to consider the price residents would have to pay.  

Parking mayhem

Moreover, the NGO said that even though the proposal was for 94 rooms, the plans did not include a single parking space.

This will increase the demand for parking and would “cripple the already over-congested parking situation in this densely urbanised area”.

Transport Malta has also raised concerns with regards to the development, saying that parking should be provided on the site. TM has warned that since parking is only available on the other side of the road, transporting guests to and from the proposed hotel would be impossible.

“The area is not ideal for such development where no allocation for an alighting/boarding can be safely located," said TM.

The FAA said no parking fee or penalty could make up for the severe shortfall and chaos this development would create in the street.

“Parking schemes have failed us as is evidently clear from the sad state of our roads. Attempting to park has for many become a daily hardship with cars circling endlessly, polluting the air and increasing traffic congestion in the process. Combining this with the excessive building height increase which will lock in the increased air pollution, and create dismal living conditions for these residents who are being forced to pay for the hoteliers’ gains," FAA said.