Three Storey Boutique Hotel Proposed Next To 1500s Palazzo In Ħaż-Żebbuġ
A three-storey boutique hotel is being proposed next to a 300-year-old palazzo in Ħaż-Żebbuġ, in an area known as Tal-Baruni.
Re-submitted plans propose a three-storey block adjacent to the two-storey palazzo in Triq il-Madonna, including the construction of 13 rooms and a swimming pool in the present garden.
The original application had received a lot of opposition during the representations period, which was filed by perit Edwin Mintoff on behalf of applicant Daniel Bonnici.
The revised plans seem to have removed the original proposal of an underground car park and reduced the total number of rooms from 50 to 34.
The project description also explains how it is proposing restoration works, with alterations, of the existing palazzo, garden, surrounding boundary walls and nearby chapel, raising questions on what these alterations will include.
Proposed plans
With the amendments done to the plans, the current proposal will still enable the destruction of the current garden, as well as introducing a modernised building which will be a storey higher than the palazzo itself.
The development will also pose a massive disruption to an entire residential area of peace, quiet, and nearby properties that have also been there for around 300 years.
Adjacent to the proposed plot also stands a chapel, which is scheduled under Grade 1 protection and included in the National Inventory of Cultural Property. The villa and its gardens are scheduled as Grade 2.
A concerned resident that reached out to Lovin Malta detailed how she spoke to one of the elderly residents of Triq il-Madonna, inhabiting a dwelling opposite the palazzo.
“He expressed anger towards the situation and fear that he and his wife will have difficulty accessing their home as well as a massive parking problem,” she told Lovin Malta.
The Ħaż-Żebbuġ local council had also previously objected to the original proposal, detailing how the area is not equipped to handle the traffic that would be generated by a boutique hotel.
“Triq il-Madonna is accessed from the Żebbug Urban Conservation Areas only, and therefore any increase in traffic would negatively impact the characteristics and amenity of a residential UCA,” the local council had stated.
“The proposed construction of a three-storey accommodation block adjacent to Villa Buleben would fail to hold a congruence to the aesthetic of the historic urban setting and would compete with the original two-storey palazzo,” one representation read.
While the application is currently suspended at the perit’s request, representations are currently being sent in to object to the amendments of this proposed project. Object to permit PA/08425/20 by sending an email to the Planning Authority.
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