NGO Friends of Villa Frere has warned that plans for a guesthouse in Pietà will mutilate a protected building and destroy the context of two others.
The plans, which are currently awaiting Planning Authority approval, would transform a dilapidated townhouse on the Pietà seafront into a guesthouse with various garden terraces.
The applicants are Pieta’ Estates Limited and Alan Galea is the architect.
But those plans have drawn criticism from an NGO which was established to safeguard a historic building that neighbours the townhouse - Villa Frere. The historic villa, which has an extensive landscaped garden, was given the highest level of planning protection, Schedule 1, last year.