PA approves excavation for 103-flat project in Paola

The Planning Authority has approved the demolition of the former Castille Leathers factory, covering 2,300sq.m of land in close proximity to the A3 Towers in Paola.

Excavation of the area, approved earlier this month, will create two basement levels required for the second phase of the project outlined in another pending application which is still awaiting approval.

The application (752/24) earmarks the site for the development of 17 retail shops at ground-floor level and 103 residential units on the four overlying floors.

The vast majority of the proposed apartments are single-bedroom units, even though the area lies outside the student priority zone where the number of one-bedroom apartments is not capped at the legal maximum of 20%.

The project is being proposed by Excel Investments Ltd, a company owned by Mark Agius and Joseph Portelli.

Back in June the Planning Authority had already approved a zoning application to create a cul-de-sac providing access to the new flats.

The Paola local council, represented by former Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett, had objected to the cul-de-sac, warning that this was simply a way of circumventing rules limiting the depth of building sites to the frontage of existing streets.

The council argued that the site in question, which fronts Triq l-Ibjar and Triq Ninu Cremona, could have been developed normally, without the resulting intensification made possible by the cul-de-sac.  

The council had also objected to the substantial number of single-bedroom apartments being proposed in the pending application.

Assessing the zoning application, the case officer acknowledged that the creation of the cul-de-sac will increase the site's developable frontage and potential density, but noted that this will also bring significant benefits, including the creation of internal public pedestrian spaces and a clear transition away from industrial uses.

The creation of cul-de-sacs through zoning applications is not isolated to this case and has become a common tactic used by developers to increase the developable frontage for apartments on sites where such projects are currently precluded by rules limiting building depths to 30 metres.

The area in Paola is currently designated for mixed-use development in the local plan, which stipulates that residential units should front Triq l-Ibjar. In 2020, the PA had issued an outline permit for the development of a five-storey office block proposed by another applicant, but the application was subsequently abandoned.