Pembroke Developers db Unveil New Luxury Project Images As They Accuse NGOs Of Twisting Facts
New close-up images of a proposed luxury centre in Pembroke have been unveiled by the db Group as the developers engaged in a fresh war of words with NGOs opposing the project.
Photomontages show a restaurant proposed inside the interior of the former British barracks that used to house the Institute of Tourism Studies, a shopping mall with a glass ceiling, a luxurious skybar an open space featuring palm trees and armchairs.
In a statement, db hit out at several criticisms recently raised by a group of environmental NGOs, accusing them of twisting several facts about their project.
They denied the development will harm the surrounding residences, referring to studies which showed the maximum daily increase in shade created by the proposed high-rise tower will be 90 minutes during some weeks in December.
It said the proposed building heights are in line with planning laws, that no part of the site is within or adjacent to a Natura 2000 site, and that a detailed geological report by Peter Gatt and Adrian Mifsud found the project will pose a negligible impact to the Ħarq Ħamiem cave which lies underneath the site.
From a heritage level, St George’s Barracks will not be demolished while an underground Cold War bunker in the vicinity will be retained in its totality and made accessible to the public.
The db Group also defended government plans to construct an underground tunnel between the Coast Road and Paceville, which will pass through the Pembroke project’s underground car park.
“It is not true, as the NGO’s claim, that the proposed publicly-funded tunnel is not in the public interest. It will serve all the residents, businesses and visitors to the area. The Traffic Impact Assessment ratified by Infrastructure Malta proves this in no uncertain terms,” it said.
The City Centre project had been granted a planning permit, but this was revoked by a judge last year, who ruled a planning board member had a conflict of interest because he owned a real estate franchise.
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