Floriana’s traditional community is being ‘squeezed out’, local council warns

The Floriana council is strongly objecting to hotel developments, warning that the conversion of residential properties into tourist accommodation is threatening the town’s residential character.

Unchecked gentrification has pushed out long-time residents and transformed the locality into a “shell of what was once a thriving residential town,” the council said.

It was reacting to the latest application, which sought to convert an entire building on Triq San Tumas into an 11-room guesthouse. This proposal would be linked to another approved application for a yet-to-be-constructed guesthouse on Triq il-Kapuccini, bringing the total number of tourist rooms to 27 across three blocks.

Floriana’s population had been in steady decline over the past three decades, dropping from 2,701 in 1995 to 1,985 in 2021. This reflected a significant decline from its 1948 population of 5,687. The average age of the locality’s residents had also increased, from 48.4 in 2011 to 50.4 in 2021.

The council had previously objected to a 40-room hotel in Pjazza Sant Anna at the corner with Triq Pjazza Emanuel S. Tonna, which had still been approved despite its objection, as it was found to be in line with existing policies.

“The balance between residential and commercial uses in Floriana has long been under strain, but now the pressure from hotel and Airbnb conversions has surpassed that of office development,” the council stated in an objection signed by its executive secretary on behalf of the local council led by independent mayor Nigel Holland.

The Grand Harbour Local Plan, drafted in 2002, had already warned about the impact of commercial expansion on Floriana’s residential role, noting that the demand for office space in Floriana had contributed to population decline.

However, the plan, drafted 25 years ago, had not anticipated the scale of short-term rental conversions that emerged in recent years. The council argued that a policy which restricted office development in Floriana should also have been applied unconditionally to hotels and Airbnb’s.

According to the council, the increasing loss of residential properties to tourist accommodation had made it harder for locals to find affordable housing, raised property prices, and disrupted the community’s social fabric.

“With no policy in place to control the shift from residential to tourist accommodation, Floriana is at risk of becoming a place where people visit but no longer live,” it said.

It further warned that “if current trends continue, Floriana will be left a shell of what was once a thriving residential town.”

As a way forward, the council called on the Planning Authority to re-evaluate existing policies and consider a strategic approach to preserve Floriana’s residential core.

“We were reaching a tipping point where Floriana’s traditional community was being squeezed out,” the council warned, stressing that urgent action was needed to protect the town’s identity and liveability. “Without intervention, the damage may soon be irreversible.”