The owners of the site known as Villa Rosa said they "fully welcome and support the public discussion initiated by the Planning Authority to update the local plan for the area".

Garnet Investments  said in a statement they "see this process as an important step towards balancing our development plans with the needs of the community and the Government's goals of promoting quality tourism, expanding open spaces, and safeguarding the environment."

The development of the Villa Rosa site has come under fire after in was announced that the Government given instructions to the Planning Authority to change the Local Plan so that the site owners would be able to build three towers, of between 27 and 34 floors each.

Environmentalists say this change would "bury St George's bay and the historic Villa Rosa building, and swallow the only open space left between St Julian's and Pembroke."

"A savage project of this dimension, that will be built near another monster, that of db, will leave a devastating impact on the environment and quality of life in an already congested area," NGO Graffitti said.  "The residents of three localities - St Julian's, Pembroke and Swieqi - will experience directly the horrid consequences of this insatiable greed."

Following this protest, the Planning Authority launched a partial review of the 2006 North Harbours Local Plan for the Paceville area. The objectives of the review, a Planning Authority document reads, is to, among other things, "re-configure the boundaries of the sub-zones within the site without any changes to the overall site boundary," and to "allocate the land uses within the redefined sub-zones to identify the: a) minimum areas of public open space which must exceed the current allocations in the local plan; b) minimum areas of private open space; c) zones where higher quality hotels shall be allowed; d) zones where residential development shall be allowed; e) zones where a mix of uses (office, retail and catering and other appropriate uses) shall be allowed; f) location of carpark/s."

In a statement Thursday, the owners also said they view this as an "opportunity to come up with a new proposal to the Planning Authority and deliver an even better project-one that not only offers a superior tourism product but also provides meaningful benefits to the local community."

Garnet Investments said they are willing to revise the project with the following commitments:

• Reduce the height from the current proposed application and establish the building heights to ensure no future applications for additional floors;

• Retain the gross floor area (GFA) within what is allowable for the Villa Rosa area under current policies;

• Create a new public open space, which currently does not exist and was not included in the current approved permit, as all open spaces were private;

• Withdraw any development in the current approved permit to protect environmentally sensitive areas and commit to rehabilitating and safeguarding these areas. In consultation with environmental entities, we will plant indigenous trees within the project;

• Bring luxury international hotel brands to diversify the product offering and attract high-quality tourism to the country;

• Introduce an internal road within our site to eliminate any loading or unloading traffic through St. George's Bay;

• Provide sufficient parking for the project;

• Invest in the necessary infrastructure to avoid placing additional strain on the existing systems.

"We are willing to be part of a vision that aligns both with sustainable development and the broader aspirations for the area," the site owners said.