FAA PERSEVERES IN EFFORTS TO PROTECT ONE OF THE LAST SCHEDULED GARDENS IN SLIEMA
Engo Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) hailed with relief the Planning Commission’s decision to refuse the preliminary application for the development of Villa Bonici and its large garden.
The application covers the large grounds of the protected 19th century Villa itself and its extensive scheduled formal garden.There was an application to change the site into yet another boutique hotel, office and residential blocks and a residential home.
FAA argued that the application as proposed would jeopardize the historic buildings and sites within this unique historic gem. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage also maintained that the application as presented did not provide adequate information to ensure the site’s historic and cultural significance were protected.
FAA: ” Villa Bonici’s historic prestige and the extensiveness of its grounds, would necessitate the utmost care and thought in its planning. A vague and insufficient proposal such as that presented in today’s preliminary application would lead to the rash uninformed development of the site, killing all hope for Sliema.”
FAA
