Nine-storey hotel proposed near Veċċja cave at St Paul’s Bay

A nine-story hotel is being proposed over an existing terrace at St Paul’s Bay that will inevitably command views of St Paul’s Islands.

The development is being proposed in the vicinity of a sea cave known as l-Għar tal-Veċċja, a natural geomorphological feature which is protected as an Area of Ecological Importance and an Area of High Landscape Value.

The hotel would be built over ten levels, including a basement and receded floor, instead of the terrace accessed from Triq Stella Maris.

The Environment and Resources Authority has already expressed concern on the proposed excavation works in close proximity of the coastal cliffs and cave.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage also called for documentation with regards to “unconfirmed” reports that the cave’s geomorphological features may extend beneath the site of the proposed hotel.  The watchdog expressed concern at the “excessively high development” being proposed, which will result in an “unsightly blank party wall facing the urban conservation area”.

Noting the site’s unobstructed proximity to the sea, it warned that “such high and intensive development is bound to be visually conspicuous from the seaward side and command views of St. Paul’s Bay”.

The SCH also referred to the presence of protected Second World War public air-raid shelters located within the site footprint of the proposed development.

Residents, which include owners of summer residences in the area, are claiming they have enjoyed rights of access from the “terrace” for the last 40 years and this had been included in their purchasing contracts.

The development, proposed by Josef Muscat, foresees the construction of a 22-room, eight-storey 3-star hotel with an overlying receded floor and basement, with related amenities consisting of a restaurant, gym and rooftop swimming pool.

The development is being recommended by the Malta Tourism Authority, which considers the development as an upgrade in the tourism product. The Authority’s Special Projects Committee has also deemed the proposed hotel eligible for additional floors according to the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels.