Mayor’s mother named in five-storey block application

A planning application submitted under the name of Rabat, Gozo mayor Brian Azzopardi’s elderly mother proposes demolishing a corner property with no heritage value and replacing it with a five-storey apartment block.

The proposed development would create a blank party wall in an area still partly characterised by two-storey terraced houses.

The development as proposed consists of two retail shops at ground-floor level, six apartments on the first, second, and third floors, and a receded setback floor with a pool. The surrounding area is partly characterised by two-storey houses.

The block is being proposed on a corner site between Triq il-Kappuccini — the road leading to the G&R supermarket in Marsalforn — and Triq Mattia Preti.

Contacted by MaltaToday, mayor Brian Azzopardi said the property had been sold to a developer and is still subject to a promise of sale.

He insisted his family was not involved in drafting the application, which he said was submitted by the developer using his mother’s name since she still technically owns the house.

Azzopardi also stated the proposed building falls within the parameters of the local plan, while declining to reveal the developer’s identity. 

He said the promise of sale was signed in February and is not tied to the planning application, adding he only became aware of the application a few days ago when someone asked him about it.

The application was submitted in June, and no objections were filed during the public consultation period.

In its assessment, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) described the site as part of a legible streetscape characterised by properties of similar style and proportion.

While noting that the existing house has no heritage value, the SCH expressed “some concern about the potential negative impact” the proposed development “may have” on views and vistas from the scheduled Ċittadella, which is on the Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage inscription. To assess this, the SCH requested a series of photomontages from different angles, which were duly submitted by the project architect.

The architect also presented documentation showing eight other planning commitments in the vicinity with similar height approvals, including a recently approved five-storey development a few metres away on the opposite side of Triq il-Kappuccini.

That application was processed in stages, with the final permit issued in May.

The applicant is also the mother of the Gozo Regional Council President Samuel Azzopardi who when contacted gave the same version as his brother Brian Azzopardi, the Rabat mayor.