Environmental impact assessment waived for 103-dwelling development

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has waived the developers' obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment on the proposed development consisting of 103 new dwellings instead of the Forum Hotel.

This is because the new development is not deemed to have any "significant environmental impacts". 

A project development statement submitted by the developers last month was deemed sufficient to assess the environmental impacts of the project, and an environment planning statement is not being required.

Twenty-five houses, 78 apartments, a number of office buildings, a supermarket and an underlying parking are being proposed on the site of the Forum Hotel in Swieqi by Gozitan entrepreneur Joseph Portelli.

According to the study, the project would generate 403 vehicular trips during peak hours. But the impact of the increase in traffic in St Andrew's Road is considered "acceptable". The project will also generate 150,000 cubic metres of waste.

The waiving of the EIA, issued on 22 March 2013, was approved by the director of MEPA's Environment Directorate, Petra Bianchi.

Carmel Cacopardo, who on behalf of Alternattiva Demokratika is a registered objector to the development, expressed AD's disagreement with the waiving. According to Cacopardo, the discretion to waive EIA should not have been used by MEPA, in view of the fact that the cumulative impacts of development for the Local Plan have not been assessed.

Cacopardo insists that the impacts would have been considered had the Strategic Environment Assessment Directive been applied but no such assessment was ever carried out on the local plan.

"The massive development proposed in lieu of the Forum Hotel will generate substantial traffic and consequently it will also have an impact on the air quality in the area. This has to be considered cumulatively when considering both existing development as well as the impacts of through traffic."

The Forum Hotel closed down some years ago, and the building has since been stripped internally and is currently vacant.

The proposed development will involve the total demolition of the existing building and all of its amenities, and the construction of a new residential and commercial development consisting of a number of blocks with a maximum height of three floors and a semi-basement from the highest street level.

The entire footprint of the site will be excavated to provide for underground parking and garages. 25% of the site will have up to four levels of underground parking (under the office block on St Andrew's Road), 25% of the site will have up to three levels of underground parking (under the apartment block on St Andrew's Road), and the remaining 50% (under the residential units on Triq Gokondu and Triq L-Uqija) will have one level of underground parking.

The scheme will be predominantly residential in nature, providing a main block of two or three bed roomed apartments on St Andrew's Road and Triq Gokondu  Triq L-Uqija, a block of three bed roomed terrace houses on Triq Gokondu and two blocks of houses with pools on Triq L-Uqija.

The scheme will also incorporate a supermarket and an office block on the eastern façade along Triq l-Uqija, and an office block on St Andrew's Road.