The Pembroke Local Council on Wednesday evening unanimously agreed to oppose db Group’s planning application to add seven additional floors to its massive St George’s Bay development, a project that the Planning Authority’s case officer has recommended for approval.
Council members unanimously voted to vote against as a local council despite having said it would vote in favour, a reversal made on the eve of the Planning Authority’s board meeting, which could have approved the project.
The board meeting on Thursday morning however was postponed after a procedural issue was highlighted with regards to the appointment of NGO Representative Romano Cassar to the board.
Cassar was appointed to the board on Wednesday, but his appointment has not been issued in the Government Gazette yet, meaning that it has not legally come into the force. As a result, the PA Board chairman suspended the meeting – which by then had discussed just one of three applications on its agenda.
Mayor Kaylon Zammit had called the urgent meeting to clarify the council’s stance ahead of the board hearing on permit PA3218/25, which concerns the expansion of the db towers.
Zammit said that although the council had initially supported the project because of the investment and compensation it would have brought to the locality, the residents’ opposition could not be ignored.
The Pembroke Local Council had previously agreed that it would not object to the extension in return for an investment of €3 million by the company into the locality.
“The position we took as a local council regarding the investment was one I believed in, and I still believe in today,” Zammit said.
“However, the local council has an important role, to represent the residents. The residents spoke out and showed their opinions, and we must respect their wishes,” Zammit said.
All members present voted in favour of Zammit’s proposal for the council to oppose the proposed expansion before the Planning Authority board.
“This point should not mean that the local council will stop here, as it is our obligation to do our utmost so that that investment, despite the fact we will be going against what we had decided, is brought back,” Zammit said, adding that the investment’s main scope was so that the investor gives something back to the community, in return for the inconvenience the project would bring.
Zammit said that the council remained committed to seeking investment for Pembroke, expressing hope that discussions with the investor could be reopened in the future, to bring back that investment.