Traditional Dingli entrance threatened by five-storey block

The Dingli local council is objecting to a five-storey development, proposed on the prominent corner location outside Dingli’s Urban Conservation Area (UCA).

Situated in the vicinity of a scheduled vernacular building, the five-storey building will generate a huge blank wall at the very entrance of the village. Since the other houses in the village core fall inside the UCA, no other property is developed to this height, leaving this proposed development as a “stand-alone modern structure at the entrance of an old village.”

The Planning Authority received over 40 objections.

Mayor Sandro Azzopardi expressed the council’s unanimous opposition, expressing concern at the even bigger visual impact when viewed from a lower point of view, due to the street’s sloping gradient.

The council said the height should be moderate and congruent with the surrounding streetscape, and that the modern design contrasted with the traditional design of the area, which would erode Dingli’s “local distinctiveness”.

“It is evident that the proposal… does not reflect the characteristics of the adjacent streetscapes and does not seek to respect and enrich its existing context,” the council said.

The well-preserved streetscape is composed primarily of traditional two-storey buildings. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage said the building earmarked for demolition had value within the context of the existing streetscape, and expressed concern on both the scale and intensity of the development. It urged the developer to revise the project with a well-designed proposal, and a moderate increase in height that retains the existing facade and is compatible with the surrounding context.