Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) welcomed the restoration of the townhouses in Saqqajja, Rabat, which Lombard Bank Malta has promised, however it raised concern over the fact that there seem to be documents missing for public access on the online planning application.
Last Friday, The Malta Independent reported that Lombard Bank Malta took over the restoration of a number of townhouses in Saqqajja Square and St Augustine’s Avenue in Rabat, which were previously scheduled for the development of a luxury boutique hotel back in 2018 by developer Kevin Grima. These plans were highly criticised by the public and NGOs, including FAA, due to the risk his plans posed for these Victorian era relics causing the developer to withdraw his application.
Lombard Bank Malta bought the property from Grima who was selling it for €1.8 million and proceeded to submit a planning application (PA/03524/20) under the remit of architect Patrick Calleja. The application states that the bank wishes to change these buildings “from Class 1 residential building to Class 4A Bank Branch including installation of platform and passenger lift and general restoration works.”
The application is still awaiting recommendations, however, it seems to be welcomed due promising the restoration of these neo-classical relics.
Speaking to this newsroom, Rabat mayor Sandro Craus said that the fact that Lombard Bank Malta has bought the residences and is planning to fix the façades is good news so much so that the council is currently scheduling the whole area to ensure that no other planning applications are submitted to the PA.
The Malta Independent also spoke with FAA which is in full support of the sensitive conversion of heritage buildings for new purposes, and any initiatives that ensure accessibility to public buildings.
“When these are heritage buildings, every attempt should be made to avoid damaging the building's heritage features,” a spokesperson for the NGO said. “In this case, the period garden wall and railings which form a strong unifying feature of the row of Victorian houses on Saqqajja Square should not be damaged to provide access, which access can be provided at the ATM point on the same façade.”
Here, the NGO is making reference to Lombard Bank Malta’s plans to remove some of the visible railing on the façade and replace it with a platform lift (photo top).
This is something which the Design and Advisory Committee (DAC) criticised in its review of the application; “the Committee considered drawings 1 and 13 and is of the opinion that the proposal should be revisited so that more of the existing front garden wall / wrought iron railing is conserved. In this regard the access to the platform lift should be eliminated and the ATM access used instead.”
FAA is moreover extremely concerned by the fact that plans and documents that are important for the public to assess this application were not uploaded on the Planning Authority website, “as is increasingly happening”. In this case, ‘drawing 13’ which the DCA made reference to in the previously mentioned comment is not available on the online planning application.
The fact that the application lacks any input from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage or the Heritage Advisory Committee is also worrying, the spokesperson said.
They explained that the pressure of the increase in development applications has left these authorities as well as NGOs unable to cope with all the cases, and is resulting in more destruction of heritage than ever, including outright demolitions of houses in Urban Conservation Areas (UCA) which is prohibited in the Structure Plan.
“This not only destroys the unique character of our towns and villages but also impoverishes our national identity and undermines tourism, the pillar of our economy,” the spokesperson concluded.