Pawlu Lia, the lawyer of Joseph Muscat and other leading government officials, has suspended his bid to transform an 18th Century Palazzo in the heart of Valletta into a four-storey office block.

After Lovin Malta reported extensively on the potential development and how it was set to irreversibly change the Valletta skyline, both Din L-Art Helwa and Flimkien Ghal-Ambjent Ahjar made their objections clear.

“We’ll be creating a dangerous precedent if we suddenly decided that Valletta’s skyline is not important and start adding floors to buildings,” Din L-Art Helwa Alex Torpiano previously told the newsroom.

The site,  which is located on Old Bakery Street and is in an Urban Conservation Area, had already seen an application approved in 2018 for a third-floor extension and a set-back fourth-floor extension.

However, an executable development permit was not issued after the project failed to meet the necessary compliance from the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD).

It remains to be seen whether Lia will launch the third attempt to see the development become a reality.

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