The Planning Authority on Thursday approved the building of 75 more apartments and a 10-storey hotel with 90 rooms to Michael Stivala’s Townsquare high rise project in Sliema, despite disapproval by residents. 

The latest plans will see the number of apartments rise from the 159 as approved in 2019 (picture above), to 234, with the overall height of the tower remaining unchanged.  All seven board members present voted in favour of the project.

A survey among Sliema residents had shown that 61.3% of Sliema residents were against the addition of a hotel to the already approved project.

The project also involves an extension of the area reserved for tables and chairs and a relocation of the main entrance and exit to the underground parking from Hughes Hallet to Triq Qui Si Sana. 

The 28-storey Townsquare project in Sliema was approved by the Planning Authority board in 2019, following years of controversy over the height of the high-rise building.

The proposed hotel within the high-rise Town Square development in Sliema will occupy a space previously designated as a ‘pavilion’ in the garden and will be constructed on stilts. 

According to traffic studies, the daily trip generation is also expected to increase by around 662 trips for a total of 3,188 trips.  To mitigate this impact, upgrading works on neighbouring junctions are being proposed.