Court revokes permit to add six floors on Ramel Buildings on Tower Road, Sliema

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) said Friday it has secured a significant victory in its ongoing battle to protect Malta’s cultural heritage as the Court has revoked the controversial permit PA/08677/21 to add six floors on Ramel Buildings on Tower Road c/w in Isouard Street, Sliema.

This development would have significantly altered the character of a historic building and negatively impacted the surrounding streetscape, FAA said in a statement. 

The proposed project by architect Elena Borg Costanzi would have added 6 floors to a 4-storey in an Urban Conservation Area (UCA) dating back to the 20th century attributed to the architect Giuseppe Cachia Caruana. Classed as a Category ‘A’ Landmark Building, this building was supposedly protected by the relevant scheduling regulation:

Category A: There shall be a strong presumption against any changes to the facades, the built fabric and ancillary open spaces… Structural interventions should be limited to the replacement of deteriorated components. No additional floors or significant structures will be allowed over the existing Category A properties.

Yet Planning Commission Chairman Martin Camilleri, Frank Ivan Caruana Catania and Perit Joel Fenech as well as the PA appeals tribunal, all ignored this PA legislation in order to grant and confirm a permit allowing 6 floors to be added, FAA said.

In his ruling, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti stipulated “The policies quoted as forming part of the Local Plan… were not only applicable to the area but more than that, they are specific to the site, attaching extraordinary importance to a building with a specific document and no exception as to what can be done in connection with such property. 

The ban on additional floors to such a building is not simply a suggestion but an order imposed by the legislator. The Authority and the Tribunal misunderstood the importance of what the legislator wanted and instead upended the principles related to this site. The Court does not understand how the Authority and the Tribunal tried to compare unprotected, high-rise buildings in a different part of Tower Road, described as low quality by the case officer, as justification as to why the site in question had to cover a party wall created by the same on Tower Road. Two wrongs don’t make a right”

Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti did not mince his words: “The Court can stop here and there is no reason to enter into the merits of the other pleas since the permit should never have been granted; indeed, it should never have been considered.”

FAA expressed deep frustration that NGOs and the public must continually expend time and resources to oppose the Planning Commission’s collusion with developers in disregarding heritage preservation and planning laws. FAA and the public are indebted to Dr Mark Portelli who handled this case. FAA is committed to safeguarding these historic structures, which have significantly enhanced the character of our towns and villages for centuries, thereby improving the quality of life for all.