Birzebbuga’s Al Fresco villa visuals revealed

Photomontages have been presented showing the impact of two new villas being proposed in place of the existing Al Fresco restaurant in Birżebbuġa.

The plans to redevelop the landmark site were presented by a company owned by developer Joseph Portelli.

The photomontages suggest that while the villas will not obscure neighbouring protected buildings, they will have a marked impact on the openness of existing views from the restaurant’s terrace, changing a long-standing and familiar view.

The visuals were requested by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and were submitted by the company a few days ago.

The application, filed by an Indian employee of the company, proposes the demolition of the Al Fresco pizzeria, which features an extensive open terrace facing St George’s Bay. The restaurant is located next to a Grade 2 scheduled lodge.

The proposal involves the development of two villas, each built over a basement, ground floor, and receded first floor, with extensive open areas. One villa will cover 299sq.m and the other 364sq.m, with building footprints of 92sq.m and 129sq.m respectively.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had previously acknowledged a reduction in the project’s proposed volumes but had reserved judgement until the photomontages were submitted. The SCH is currently assessing the newly submitted visuals.

Thanks to regulations introduced in 2020, photomontages are mandatory for developments situated next to scheduled buildings.

Last year, MaltaToday revealed that Portelli had used the name of an employee from his construction firm PRA Construction to submit the application to demolish the popular Al Fresco restaurant and replace it with two villas.

The company stated that, as per its policy, it “sometimes submits applications under the names of project supervisors involved in the development to simplify communication and create a sense of ownership over the project.”