Eight-storey elderly home proposed in Mosta

A planning application (PA/03362/25) has been submitted to build an eight-storey home for the elderly instead of a residential villa and adjacent field.

The site is at the edge of Triq il-Farinal in Mosta and the project is being proposed by Frank Spiteri’s Eldercare Ltd. It would see the demolition of the existing residence and adjacent fields, covering 2,060sq.m, to construct an elderly care facility with eight floors above ground and three basement levels, reaching 25 metres above the highest street level under Malta’s height adjustment policy for elderly homes.

The site which was ODZ before 2006 is located within the Is-Sgħajtar rationalisation area, approved under the Partial Local Plan Review of January 2019. The plan designates the area primarily for residential use, with building heights generally limited to three floors plus a semi-basement and a 6m landscaped buffer separating housing from the nearby Mosta Technopark.

The local policy allows small-scale commercial or community facilities only if they are compatible with the residential character of the area. The plan emphasises comprehensive development, ensuring roads, infrastructure, and public open spaces are planned cohesively rather than through piecemeal applications.

A number of residents living adjacent to the proposed site have formally objected to the application. They cite the height, bulk, and massing of the building as disproportionate to the surrounding low- and mid-rise neighbourhood. Concerns include loss of privacy, reduced daylight and sunlight, overshadowing of rooftop solar panels, and additional traffic and parking pressures on narrow local streets.

Residents argue the development constitutes overdevelopment and conflicts with the intended character and sustainability objectives of the rationalisation plan. The Planning Authority is currently reviewing the application and is still receiving feedback from the public.