The Mepa board yesterday went against the recommendation by the Planning Directorate to refuse an application for a penthouse in Cospicua after reason prevailed that refusing the application would leave an ugly skyline while accepting it would perhaps improve matters slightly.

The application regarded a building facing Gavino Gulia Square and facing on the steep and stepped Triq il-Kuncizzjoni. Adding another storey would give the façade on the square a five-storey height but only a three-storey height on the steep hill side.

Both the CHAC and the directorate urged refusal since they felt the height proposed was unacceptable.

But the applicants insisted and even took the DCC on the spot so that they could see for themselves that the buildings next door and across the street were higher and that the overlying impression was that due to previous permits the whole skyline was a conglomeration of ugliness.

The building next door which is even higher than the site has a permit for an even higher storey (which expires next March). It later turned out this building had been so high since pre-war times: it must have been a very lucky building not to get hit by all those bombs which fell on Cottonera.

Architect Chris Cachia for the applicant argued this is a derelict building and the proposed refurbishment would give value to it and the whole street.

Mepa chairman Austin Walker urged the board to disregard precedents as this would be a very dangerous game in planning permits. “Like this, we end up building to the sky,” Mr Walker said.

Most of the members of the board who took part in the discussion could see the point that even without considering precedents, approving the application would improve the skyline especially considering the mass of buildings at its back.

So the board approved this outline application with the proviso that the design is improved considerably to give more added value to the building.