Pool-view from Mdina bastions? Heritage watchdog unconvinced

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has expressed concern on proposed rooftop pools and other paraphernalia of a hotel proposed on Saqqajja Hill, whose roofs will be directly visible from the Mdina bastions and the Point de Vue viewpoint in Rabat.

The 110-room hotel is set to replace the former Tattingers disco and adjacent buildings. The project applicant is Jeffrey Cutajar, the owner of Tattingers. The hotel plans on the site of the Tattingers disco have been subjected to various changes in the past months, to address earlier concerns by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, the Environment and Resources Authority and other bodies. The latest designs have been endorsed by the Planning Authority’s design advisory committee.

But the SCH said the proposed rooftop pools and related equipment in the area, such as tables, chairs, umbrellas and serving areas at roof level, will present a negative impact as viewed from Mdina”. The SCH welcomed several improvements, particularly in the decrease in “rooftop” volumes and the terracing of the new hotel with the lie of the land along Saqqajja Hill.

Nevertheless, the SCH insists that the “proposed development remains one of very considerable intensity and volumes, within a context of very high cultural heritage sensitivity”.

The SCH is still concerned by “the inevitable material and visual impact that such an extensive and intensive development will have on this context and especially on the values of the historical city of Mdina”.

In view of this the SCH is calling for further studies of the proposed roof structures, pools and paraphernalia, in order to possibly “harmonize with the Mdina views and vistas”.

The Superintendence is also apprehensive about proposed tunnels, the construction of which will entail extensive excavation in an archaeologically sensitive area. The access of one of these pedestrian tunnels will be immediately next to the scheduled Loġġa tal-Palju. “This will involve excavation works between the Loġġa and the adjacent structure, to lower the street gradient and may seriously impact the scheduled structure”.

Interviewed by MaltaToday in 2018, project architect David Xuereb had described the project as “an increased opportunity for the appreciation of Mdina, whose application for World Heritage Status we fully support… Mdina will remain the focus of views, floating in a sea of green.”