The former post office opposite the Sliema police station will be turned into a fully-fledged Jewish place of worship after the Planning Authority gave the green light to the project.

The site, in Manuel Dimech Street, will include a kosher restaurant.

The PA has obliged the religious community to sign a deed that will ensure the entire premises, except for the restaurant, shall “be exclusively used by of the Orthodox Jewish Community” and cannot be sold to third parties without a new PA permit.

This condition was imposed for a waiver on a €74,000 parking obligation. The synagogue creates a demand for 12 parking spaces, and its restaurant another seven, and can host 41 seats for worship. The parking demand is 12 additional spaces over and above the former post office’s requirements.

In these circumstances, developers must either provide the required spaces or pay between €2,500 and €9,000 for each space not provided for, which resulted in a €74,000 obligation for the Jewish community.

Their architect argued for an exemption since the Jewish religion forbids the community from using any mechanical instrument on the Sabbath, which means worshippers make no use of buses, cars or other mechanical means on that day to reach the synagogue.

Since it is only used on the Sabbath, no parking spaces are needed. The proponents, the Chabda Malta Foundation, also said most of its members are Sliema residents and that Jewish tourists tend to stay in the same area.

With the synagogue now set back from the front by 2m, the former post office will see two additional storeys on top of the urban conservation area buildling, as well as the restoration of the façade. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage issued clearance for these works.