Peralta withdraws Mellieha ODZ hotel application

Former magistrate Carol Peralta  has withdrawn an application for a 118-room hotel, outside Mellieħa development zones (ODZ), after a case officer recommended refusal.

Following the withdrawal of the application a  public hearing  scheduled for 22 June where the planning board was expected to turn down the application has been cancelled

The six-storey hotel was proposed on a 5,500sq.m plot of agricultural land owned by Peralta on Triq Marfa next to the Omm il-Ħniena cemetery and opposite the Luna Hotel.

A previous application for a hotel on the same site had been submitted by developer Mark Gaffarena back in 2008 but it had also been withdrawn.

The PA’s case officer  had concluded that the proposed hotel was in breach of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) which only allows rural development that has to be legitimate or necessary.

Peralta’s plan would also be in breach of the Northwest Local Plan policies protecting agricultural land, while part of the land in question is already reserved for future cemetery expansion.

Over 300 people had objected to the hotel, including the Mellieħa local council, the Environment and Resources Authority and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.