Protected Msida streetscape threatened by six-storey block

The garden of a historical building in Msida granted protection by the Planning Authority in 2018 could become the site of a six-storey apartment block.

The garden is part of the area scheduled by the PA and includes 12 mature trees and a well.

Owner Michael Bonello will restore the existing house and ‘remissa’ with minor alterations, remove “dilapidated garden structures” and replace them with basement garages and overlying apartments.

The building, in the corner of Triq it-Torri and Triq il-Kuncizzjoni, forms part of a row of eight houses granted protection by the PA in 2018. The recommendation for scheduling made by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage was made with the express intention to protect the streetscape, representing a period of the town that has largely been lost over the past decades due to intense urbanisation.

While Grade 1 properties like historical churches and their surroundings enjoy maximum protection, Grade 2 properties are largely protected from demolition but may be subject to internal alterations.

But in the past the PA has approved apartments located in the gardens of these buildings: in 2018 the PA not only approved an extra storey on The Cloisters, a scheduled building in St Julian’s, but also a seven-storey block in its gardens.

Recently environment minister Aaron Farrugia announced new guidelines regulating developments next to scheduled buildings.

The PA must prepare a detailed assessment of the impacts of any proposed development on protected buildings and identify mitigation measures. This assessment must be supported by recommendations from CSH, with photomontages from strategic viewpoints. Architectural design must respect street context and blend in with the surroundings.