PA approves 13-storey development in Xlendi

The Planning Authority has approved a 13-floor development proposed by Excel Investments, a company owned by Joseph Portelli and Mark Agius in Xlendi. 

The project was approved by 9 votes against 1 with the sole dissenting voice being NGO representative Romano Cassar.

The application as approved includes 46 residential units, a 180sq.m convenience store, and underlying garages and car spaces spread across 13 levels. The demolition of the site was approved five years ago when a hotel was being proposed on the site. The 846sq.m site is situated on a very narrow street within Xlendi.

The decision on the project was due in November but was postponed because applicant and developer Mark Agius was unable to attend. The  postponement came amidst controversy over PN leader Alex Borg’s earlier declaration in which he suggested that he is not against towers being considered in certain areas in Gozo if allowed by a national skyline policy.

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Planning Minister Clint Camilleri condemned Borg’s declaration, rebutting that current policies preclude the development of towers in Gozo. Borg subsequently recanted on insisting that he is against the development of towers in Gozo. 

The case was later delegated from the Planning Commission to the Planning Board.

The site is within the development limits of Xlendi, fronting both Triq San Xmun and Triq il-Punici, which differ in elevation by roughly 16 metres. The planning officer’s report recommending approval notes that the sloping nature of the site allows the development to comply with relative height limits when measured from both street levels.

The building design incorporates multiple setback levels, a strategy consistent with policy P36 on sloping sites, which requires that new developments follow the natural topography of streets. Section drawings submitted with the application show that the setbacks align with the existing street profile, and the proposed materials and façade design are considered compatible with neighbouring structures.

The shop element of the project, although exceeding the 75sq.m floor area typically allowed for convenience shops in similar areas, was deemed acceptable by the case officer because it is moderate in scale and consistent with the area’s character.

Environmental NGOs objected to the development, citing its visual impact and the scale of the project, which they said could overload local infrastructure and traffic systems.

The demolition of a two-storey building, paving the way for the development, was approved in 2021 as the first phase of a project that at the time envisaged a 13-storey hotel in Xlendi. Back then, Commission Planning Chairman Claude Mallia had insisted that the demolition approval did not entail a commitment on the future of the site. He said he understood concerns about the possible development and encouraged further discussion. During Thursday’s meeting a resident pointed out that the original permit for the excavation of the site was for a hotel and not for another block of flats. 

Another resident who lives next to the proposed development pointed out that the road is very narrow and would not cope with the intensity of the infrastructure  and expressed concern on the safety aspect due to the proposed excavations.     

Board chairman Emmanuel Camilleri said he sympathised with objectors but insisted that the board has to follow existing policies when assessing the development.  He also pointed out that the safety aspect falls under the remit of other authorities like the BCA.  He encouraged the residents to take up their concern with these authorities.

“We cannot just refuse an application without stating policy reasons.  If we do this the developer will appeal and the tribunal will still decide on the basis of policy,” Camilleri sauid.

Camilleri later said that the application seems to be in line with policies but expressed concern on the design of the project including anomalies in the recessing of the project.  He also suggested that the seventh level is set back further, a suggestion accepted by the developer.

NGO representative Romano Cassar pointed out that a number of photomontages requested by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had not been submitted. The directorate confirmed that photomontages demanded by the superintendence from a number of angles were not submitted with its representative insisting that the SCH had no remit on the design of buildings in urban areas which abided to the height limitations.

In 2024  the superintendence had expressed concern on the proposed volume and heights of the proposed development which it claimed  “would have an inevitable impact on the visual integrity of Xlendi Bay”. The SCH had said that it will comment further on this development application upon receipt of the requested photomontages to show the impact of the project from the Torri tax-Xlendi; the Ta’ Karolina cave and from the Xlendi pier.