The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has revoked the permit for a proposed 31-storey hotel on the site of the former military barracks at Fort Cambridge, in Tigné, Sliema.
In its decision on Tuesday, the tribunal criticised the Planning Authority (PA) for disregarding the development brief that specifically regulates construction within this area.
The decision was made after an appeal was filed by Moviment Graffitti, Din l-Art Ħelwa, and a group of residents, who were represented by lawyer Claire Bonello and architect Tara Cassar.
The appeal was presented on the grounds of breach of several requirements and conditions applicable to the site through the Fort Cambridge Development Brief, including the exceedance of maximum number of permissible floors.
Instead of adhering to the brief, the tribunal said that the PA based its approval solely on the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy, which allows hotels to exceed the height restrictions set out in the local plan.
However, the authority failed to consider and overlooked the fact that the development brief caps building height on the site at the existing four storeys.
The tribunal said that the brief also limits the total allowable floor space to 5,680 square metres, yet the PA approved a proposal covering 25,600 square metres, more than four times the permitted amount.
The tribunal has now ordered the PA to reassess the application and produce a new case officer report that evaluates the proposal in line with the development brief.
It also noted that the authority did not demonstrate how a 31-storey tower would appropriately respond to the surrounding context in terms of scale and height.
The controversial hotel project had been approved by the Planning Authority in July 2023 by a vote of eight to one. The development is being proposed by GAP Ltd, which was selected in 2007 to redevelop Fort Cambridge in accordance with the parameters set out in the development brief.
Fort Cambridge was originally constructed between 1903 and 1905 and was converted into a hotel in the 1980s, which involved removing the main porch on the north façade and transforming the original rooms into double bedrooms. Nevertheless, much of the building's external structure remained intact.
The Planning Authority's own Fort Cambridge Development Brief, approved in January 2006, described the barracks as a "landmark building" that should be retained due to its historical and architectural significance.
It was intended to act as a buffer between new high-rise development and neighbouring residential blocks.
"No additional floors over the third floor will be allowed over this landmark building," the brief explicitly states.