Chalet redevelopment? No Paceville at Għar id-Dud, Sliema mayor says

Plans to redevelop the site of the Chalet in Għar id-Dud, Sliema should not include night clubs, Sliema Mayor John Pillow has said.

Pillow told MaltaToday it is “too early to comment” when contacted about a request for proposals published by government on Monday seeking the participation of the private sector to redevelop the iconic Chalet.

Pillow committed the council to full consultation with residents once more concrete plans for the area are submitted.

However, the mayor still drew a major red line for any proposed development, insisting the project “should not include night clubs” which would turn the area “into another Paceville”.

Pillow also confirmed that so far, no consultation has taken place with the council with regards to the redevelopment of the site.

A request for proposals was issued by Malta Strategic Partnership Projects Ltd, a government entity, seeking interested bidders to redevelop the concrete platform presently jutting into the sea along the Ghar id-Dud promenade, in to a “superior quality catering and entertainment establishment.”

The site will be offered on a 65-year concession to the private sector and bidders will have to invest a minimum initial capital of €3.2 million and subsequent partial investments of €1.4 million every seven years during the concession term.

According to the government’s privatisation unit, proposals have to fall within the parameters of the Chalet Development Brief approved under a PN administration, 20 years ago, which offers a wide range of uses for development in the area.

Twanny Theuma via Sliema Past (Times Facebook)

What does the 2002 brief allow on the Chalet site?

The development brief approved in 2002 following a public consultation carried out 23 years ago, limits the height of the new building to 3.3 metres from the level of the promenade and to 30% the footprint of the existing footprint at promenade level.

The brief is very generic when it comes to the nature of facilities which can be allowed on the site, but specifies that the proposed facilities should be “primarily entertainment and recreational in character”.

The examples mentioned in the brief include indoor and outdoor cafes, restaurant, bar, a dance-floor area, a health and fitness centre, a sauna/health club and other “water related uses”.

Excluded by the brief are “extensive retail or commercial outlets.”  The brief foresees “a balanced and sustainable land-use mix” and warns developers not “to overdevelop the site beyond its capacity”. Existing views of the sea from along the promenade “must not be interrupted and the current vista to the Fortizza from the junction of Tower Road and Qui-Si-Sana must be retained.

According to the brief the redevelopment on the former Chalet footprint should be a “distinctive building demonstrating excellence in architectural design” which serves “as a main landmark along the Sliema promenade.”  The brief foresees the use of “modern materials” suitable to an area which is “highly exposed to the elements”.

The brief also states that the redevelopment of the site “should not ideally extend beyond the existing footprint of the Chalet structure” but makes an allowance for a 150sq.m extension if a “sound justification” is provided.

The brief also excludes any development on the foreshore between the Chalet and the Fortizza and the Chalet and Qui-si-sana.  Moreover, the design should take into account the existing landscape and should enhance the recreational value of the promenade.

The brief also refers to the exposure of the site to north-east winds and the need of engineering works to mitigate such effects but specifies that these works “must be sensitively designed and cause the minimal environmental impact on the marine environment as well as the surrounding landscape”.

The brief itself is not limited to the redevelopment of the Chalet site but also foresees the development of an underground car park for 150 to 180 vehicles under the promenade.

The brief also states that the development of the car park and commercial development on the chalet site should be “preferably carried out as a single proposal”.

However, although the request for proposals issued on Monday refers to the parameters set in the 2002 development brief, it makes no reference to the development of a car park under the promenade. The RFP is limited solely to the concrete platform jutting out to sea.

The Chalet saga

Opened in 1926 the chalet dance hall at Ghar id-Dud was a popular rendezvous until 1963, when it was closed down due to severe deterioration that had rendered the structure unsafe.

A tender for a 65-year concession to redevelop the Chalet site and construct an underground car park under the promenade was awarded to Frank Schembri’s C&F Building Contractors in 2001.

At that time the price tag for the development was set at Lm152,000 per annum (€ 365,000).

But in the tender document the government reserved the right to withdraw the letter of acceptance if a full development permit was “not obtained within nine months”.

But a planning application submitted in 2002 envisaging the demolition of the Chalet structure, the excavation of the promenade and the construction of a car park and commercial outlets with wave protection measures, was never approved by the authority.

Plans foresaw a ship-shaped structure atop the derelict Chalet rising well enough above the 3.3-metre limit imposed by the development brief. Widespread opposition to the project was motivated by concern that excavation works for the car park posed a threat to the fragile cave system which extends for 33 metres below the promenade and Tower Road.  PA studies suggested that the iconic Għar il-Lembi and Għar id-Dud caves are already in danger of collapse.

The Planning Directorate had recommended a refusal of the application warning that the proposed excavations would seriously endanger, Għar il-Lembi and Għar id-Dud which are protected due to their ecological value.  No final decision was ever taken by the planning board on the proposed project.

Subsequently the Lands Department wrote to the company withdrawing the letter of acceptance and in 2006 the government proceeded to demolish the rusty pillars of the old structure clearing the site for bathers who frequent the area.

Plans to commercialize the site were resurrected in 2017 when Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi announced plans to revitalise the stretch of Sliema coast known as Għar id-Dud – between Fortizza and Tigné Point.

Mizzi vaguely hinted that revenue from the commercialisation of the Chalet site would be used to finance a new, free, public beach for Sliema.