The Planning Board has unanimously voted to cap the contribution made by the Schembri Barbros group for the construction of a new roundabout next to a proposed shopping mall along Triq tal-Barrani at 48.5% of the total cost.
When approving the project in principle through an outline permit approved in March, the Planning Board had tied the development to a condition stating that the roundabout junction at the site’s access has to be “upgraded and completed prior to the commencement of works on the commercial hub development” and that “the expenses to the highway upgrading are to be fully borne by the developer.”
But subsequently the Schembri Barbros Group called for a reconsideration of this permit condition, calling on the Planning Authority to revise this condition describing it as one which is “not fair and equitable” and one which “does not reflect the transport impact of the approved development”.
Instead of paying in full for the roundabout the developers proposed that their financial contribution should be capped to reflect the development’s “share of network traffic” which, according to a Traffic Impact Assessment stands at around 22%.
The group also proposed that any reference to “highway upgrading” is removed to ensure that the expense is limited to the creation of a new roundabout and does not include other infrastructural expenses.
In its reply to the group’s argument, Transport Malta said that while it is willing to accept an adjustment of the financial contribution “to better reflect the incremental traffic impact of the proposed development” on the network, the calculation should reflect the share of traffic created by the new shopping mall during peak hour, which amounts to 49% and not to 22% as proposed Schembri Barbros.
Moreover, TM also clarified that the developer’s contribution will be limited to works related to the new roundabout and not to any other infrastructural works in the area.
The case officer assessing the groups’ request recommended accepting that the contribution should be limited to the cost of the roundabout, but still said that the expenses “are to be fully borne by the developer”.
During today’s meeting, deputy chairman Martin Camilleri expressed misgivings on the request noting that the request was unprecedented and in other cases of which he is aware of, the developer is always expected to pay the full cost of the infrastructure required for the project.
His misgivings were shared by chairman Emmanuel Camilleri who noted that this means that the rest of the cost will be borne by the public. But the request was accepted on condition that any eventual full development permit also includes an additional ‘planning gain’ which goes to subsidise environmental and infrastructural projects to be paid in full by the developer.
The planning gain is established according to an established formula based on the size of the project.
Other board members made it clear that they were voting in favour not to accommodate the developer but simply because studies endorsed by Transport Malta showed that the roundabout will cater for other traffic flows not connected to the new shopping mall, which means that even in the absence of the development, a roundabout will still be necessary in the future.
According to the approved plans, the retail and leisure complex will be built over three floors on a footprint of 14,220sq.m. Two levels of underground parking are set to accommodate 1,014 parking spaces.
Apart from shops, the shopping hub will include an underground gymnasium and a childcare centre. The upper floor will include food, beverage and retail outlets. The existing Lidl supermarket will be retained and enlarged.
The developers are now expected to present a full development application based on the parameters established in the outline permit.
Schembri Barbros Limited is owned by Barbros Group Limited which is owned by Ephriam, Anton, Carmelo, Franridge and Mary Schembri, Claudine Barbara and Josephine Guntrip.
