Land next to Qrendi tower proposed for five-storey flats

A new planning control application proposes residential development reaching up to 17.5m on vacant land off Triq Dun Nerik Mahoney and Triq San Nikola in Qrendi in close vicinity to a protected garden and tower.

Application PC/00053/26 covers 10,447.5sq.m and establishes parameters for residential development, including building heights, street alignments, gardens and public open space.

The proposed heights range from 12.3m in the vicinity of the protected tower and garden to 16.3m for three and 17.5m on other areas.

The proposal also allocates 1,082sq.m for public open space and provides for new streets, pavements and an access road connecting to Triq Dun Nerik Mahoney.

Earlier plans raised heritage concerns

The site was previously the subject of planning control application PC/00062/18, submitted by Anthony Cardona in 2018 to establish zoning, building heights and road alignments.

The case officer recommended refusal in 2019, concluding the proposed layout did not adequately protect the setting of it-Torri tal-Kaptan, a Grade 1 scheduled building, and its historic complex.

According to planning documents the site also includes a Grade 2 scheduled girna and garden.

The earlier scheme proposed development over different heights rising to 17.5m towards the Outside Development Zone. The case officer considered this inappropriate, arguing that building heights should transition gradually away from the tower and that the tower should remain the highest feature.

The proposal was also found to lack the required public open space. At least 1,043sq.m was required on the basis of the applicant's ownership within the rationalisation site, but none was proposed.

The applicant did not submit revised plans addressing the concerns, and the case officer recommended refusal on grounds relating to heritage protection, building heights and public open space. The application was subsequently withdrawn.

Crucially unlike the previous proposal the new one includes 1,082 sq.m of public open space. Its eventual impact on the historic setting will depend, among other factors, on how buildings are positioned and how the proposed height parameters are applied.

Qrendi under siege

But the application also represents an intensification of development being proposed in the small village which has a population of only 3,324 residents in Qrendi in July 2024. 

Over the past years the small village has faced an onslaught of applications both within its historical core and in the surrounding rural area.

The Planning Authority is currently considering another zoning application concerning planning parameters for a five-storey development on 2,476sq.m of land behind the locality’s primary school also added to the development zone in 2006. 

Although recommended for approval by the case officer, the PA deferred taking a decision on the development amidst concern on the massing and height of the proposed development and its impact on the locality’s skyline.  

A five-storey residential development consisting of 46 units, 85m away from the Qrendi church incorporating a historic farmhouse, was also recommended for approval by the Planning Authority case officer.  A decision on this application is expected next week. Residents represented by Il-Kollettiv are opposing these developments.