Contentious permit for 7-storey block in Xlendi approved in spite of ‘very significant breach’ flagged by objectors

A planning application for a 7-storey block in Xlendi that is set to tower over the streetscape of a narrow alleyway was approved by the Planning Authority (PA) earlier this morning in spite of a “very significant breach” flagged by objectors.

Last month, the PA’s Commission postponed its decision on this application after asking the architect who filed the permit to make minor adjustments to the block’s internal and external features.

After briefly going through the updated case officer’s report which noted these adjustments, PA Commission chair Elizabeth Ellul ignored objectors’ concerns about the approved development’s encroachment onto a public service road, telling them to “continue arguing between themselves” before proceeding to a unanimous vote of approval.

The development, which was advertised for sale through a real estate firm linked with Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli before the permit was approved, was initially recommended for approval by the PA, even though objectors noted that the building’s footprint does not fit within the parameters of the development zone.

An architect who spoke on behalf of residents who objected to the project, Tiziana Tedesco Triccas, specifically flagged how the PA’s Commission failed to actively discuss the fact that the applicant filed a request for the reinterpretation of the site’s alignment boundaries, which was only made publicly available after multiple requests about it.

In response to this request, the PA’s Executive Council had asked the project’s developers to apply for a Planning Control (PC) application, which is the formal mechanism that needs to be used for any changes that need to be made to the site’s permitted development layout.

“I cannot understand how the board didn’t bring this up. This is a very significant breach of procedure,” Tedesco Triccas stated during her intervention, adding that the request for reinterpretation was only briefly mentioned in the PA’s internal documents.

Architect Manuela Mercieca, who filed the application in question and works full-time with developer Joseph Portelli, rebutted objectors’ arguments by referring to other buildings with similar dimensions and features in Triq l-Għar ta’ Karolina and Triq Sant’ Andrija, the narrow alleyway where the project is set to be built.

Over the years, Xlendi has seen a raft of development applications for towering buildings that are incongruent with the otherwise idyllic seaside town in Gozo, including for other Portelli-linked projects.

In 2020, The Shift had exclusively revealed the involvement of Portelli and his associates in three large developments on the other side of Xlendi Bay, one of which remains contested in front of the PA’s board more than five years after the original application was filed.