High-rise photomontage reveals policy breach in Metropolis approval

A photomontage for the proposed ST Tower of 17 storeys in Ta’ Xbiex has opened a can of worms over the way a planning policy can exclude highrise projects that obstruct the iconic view from the University of Malta to Valletta – something that has been ignored under successive administrations.

The president of the Malta Developers Association, Michael Stivala, wants to add two storeys to his currently-under-construction 15-storey ST Tower in Ta’ Xbiex. At 17 floors, the tower should be ‘hidden’ behind the yet-to-be-built Metropolis Tower, a massive 33-storey tower by Libyan developers Husni Bey, when viewed from the University of Malta.

But in the absence of the Metropolis – now a decade left undeveloped – the ST Tower will stick out like a sore thumb when seen from this protected view.

Local plan policies NHSE 07 and NHSE 08 clearly state that the PA should “refuse development permission for any proposed development that is likely to have a detrimental effect on strategic view.”

The photomontage from Stivala’s architects suggests that the Metropolis high-rise, first approved under a Nationalist administration in 2009 and renewed under Labour in 2014, is in breach of local plan policies NHSE 07 and NHSE 08.

NHSE 08 clearly states the PA should “refuse development permission for any proposed development that is likely to have a detrimental effect on strategic view.” NHSE 07 lists four so-called “Strategic View Corridors” which are clearly identified in Map SE2 which includes the “skylines that should not be significantly disrupted by new development, especially high buildings”.

One of the strategic views identified was the visual corridor linking the University of Malta site to Tignè Point, Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta.

The policy states that where “deemed necessary by the PA applicants shall be required to provide photomontages in order to prove that the new development will not significantly disrupt the identified building planes and skylines”.

Yet despite these very specific policies, the Metropolis development was still approved despite its clear and definitive impact on this protected view. So far, apart from the excavation of a massive hole of circa 6,000sq.m, works on this development have not even commenced even if the permit is set to expire in September 2023.

Yet the prior approval of the Metropolis development has set a precedent for other developments in the area. In fact, the case officer report for the Stivala tower approved in 2020 suggests that the visual impact of the new development will “complement” that of its larger neighbour.

The case officer report assessing whether Stivala’s tower is in line with existing policies made no reference to the local plan policy protecting the view from the University to Valletta.

But a visual impact assessment submitted by Stivala in 2018 had already included a photomontage from the University quadrangle. The report concluded that the new tower would in isolation “screen” and “fragment” the view of the bastions, with the impact being described as having an impact of “major significance.”  But the same report states that this impact was neutralised by the prior approval of the Metropolis tower.

Now another photomontage showed the Metropolis screening the new development in its entirety, thus showing that Stivala’s tower would have no impact on this view.

Following a second application to add two new floors to the approved tower filed in June, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, in a memo issued in October, drew attention to Map SE2 of the North Harbour Local Plan which indicates the strategic view corridors that the local plan seeks to preserve.

Photomontage of the ST tower if the Metropolis development is not carried out.

The memo states that since one of the views identified in the local plan was that from the University of Malta to Valletta and “since the site of the proposed development lies directly in this corridor”, updated photomontages of the highrise as seen from this view were to be submitted.

Updated photomontages were submitted on 10 November, showing both the visual impact of the ST Tower with the additional two storeys and also the “cumulative” impact of the ST Tower and the yet-to-be-constructed Metropolis.

This clearly shows that, although in isolation of each other, both projects would have a substantial impact on this sensitive view; and when completed the Metropolis Towers will completely screen the ST Tower when seen from the University.

And this raises two questions: how did the PA approve the Metropolis development in the first place if it was so flagrantly in breach of policy and what will happen if this development whose permit expires in September 2023 is never carried out?