The application sought to build an 88-room aparthotel, underground parking and related amenities, including a mini-market and rooftop pool, on a vacant plot off Triq is-Swieqi and extending to the roads behind.

The site is surrounded mostly by two- and three-storey terraced houses, as well as a few taller apartment blocks, and is zoned as a Residential Priority Area, where only residential applications are meant to be considered.

The project was opposed by the local council and dozens of residents who opposed the project.

The Planning Commission board voted unanimously against the development due to the area's residential zoning and the aparthotel's planned 10 storeys, above the height limit for the area.