Sea wall proposed at Veccja to prevent road collapse

The Public Works Department plans to build a rock revetment along the cliff-face of l-Għar tal-Veċċja at St Paul’s Bay.

The plans would drastically alter the coastline, obscuring the existing cliff-face. But they are being justified as a way to “protect the friable cliff-face” and “avoid the collapse of Triq Stella Maris and damage to adjacent properties”.

The Veċċja sea cave is recognised as a natural geomorphological feature, protected as an Area of Ecological Importance.

In 2016 a nine-year-old girl was hospitalised after falling rocks hit her while bathing in the area.

The plans come in the wake of an onslaught of construction activity in the area, which include a nine-storey hotel on an existing terrace overlooking the bay. The cave’s geomorphological features may extend beneath the site of the proposed hotel, according the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.

The hotel 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.

In January the Environment and Resources Authority raised its concern on the potential geo-technical risk for the Veċċja cave, calling for a geo-technical report.  MaltaToday is informed that the report is being prepared. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage contends that the cave should be considered as a “significant geomorphological feature that would warrant protection in terms of the Cultural Heritage Act.”

Residents in the area who spoke to MaltaToday welcomed plans by the government to address safety issues, but insist that a full geo-technical report and risk assessment on l-Għar tal-Veċċja be made available. They questioned whether over-development in the area was the real reason why the unsightly sea wall is being proposed.

As proposed the works proposed by the government include passageways for public access to the sea and a footway to link Triq Stella Maris to Trejet il-Veċċja.