The newly formed Sliema Residents’ Association has presented its first objection to the development of Villa Bonici, which lies over Sliema’s last green lung.
The proposed development in Manwel Dimech Street in Sliema includes the construction of a residential complex of up to 23 blocks, some as high as 12 floors, in the villa’s gardens which stretch almost all the way down to the Sliema Strand.
The association is petitioning residents to support its objection, claiming the development runs counter to various policies.
The association says the construction of a semi-basement goes against the Sliema Building Height & Urban Design map of the North Harbours Local Plan, and the construction over the Villa Bonici garden “has negative implications that go beyond the boundaries of the neighbourhood.”
The SRA says gardens within the block give the surrounding dwellings a breath of fresh air and privacy. “The low heat capacity of such an unbuilt area lowers the day and night temperatures during the summer season and reduces the glare produced by the buildings of the surrounding areas.”
“Apart from the intrinsic value of the garden itself, having an unbuilt area serves to clear the heat-island effect produced by the surrounding housing. Building over the existing garden as proposed will have several repercussions which are certainly unsustainable,” the objection continues.
The association also quotes the North Harbours Local Plan which describes Sliema as an over-populated region “suffering from a lack of recreational space, infiltration of traffic, noise and other effects resulting from tourism development, commercial intensification and high housing densities.”
Sliema also has one of the highest dwelling densities with much as 234 dwellings per hectare along the coastal belt and 25% of all dwellings “completely vacant”.
The association added that Sliema has already surpassed the EU threshold for nitrogen dioxide emissions and benzene on several occasions “but regrettably there is no data regarding other pollutants such as particulate matter since this is not monitored in Sliema.
“These gardens are the last defences against air pollution and rising air temperatures within the urban areas. Furthermore, replacing these permeable surfaces with impermeable ones such as buildings is contributing to the increase in surface water run-off and impacting heavily on local flooding and the congestion of sewers.”
The SRA says Sliema is one of the few villages that does not possess protected enclaves. “We urge that all gardens, yards and all other open spaces should be protected from further development, leading to the reduction of the residents’ quality of life – something that MEPA is supposed to be doing.”
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