A proposed development application which sought to demolish an existing corner terraced house in Fgura has been shot down by the Planning Commission.

The quaint terraced house was set to be replaced by a four-storey apartment block as well as a penthouse overhead, with the designs not fitting into the existing context. 

Notwithstanding that the site is outside an Urban Conservation Area (UCA) and the proposed development conforms to the local plan policies, the board cited that the proposed building height will ruin the existing defined visual appearance and urban setting of the area in and around Pjazza Patri Redent Gauci.

The streetscapes around this terraced house property are all intact with other similar low-lying residential properties which contribute towards the area’s distinctiveness and visual harmony.

Some weeks back, the commission took a similar stand when it refused a development application along Triq Santa Margerita in Sliema.

The commission had ruled that the height and volume of the proposed apartment block will compromise the two/three storey streetscape while also creating of a new blank party wall.

What do you make of this decision?