Gozo hotel illegalities ignored by Planning Authority

The Planning Authority has ignored the Environment and Resources Authority which had warned against the entrenched ‘build now, sanction later’ mentality with regard to the illegal development of a pool in Gozo.

The PA has issued a permit to regularise planning irregularities deviating from a permit issued in 1969 to a roadside inn called the Arches in Triq il-Hammiet in Victoria, and for its transformation into a boutique hotel.

In a memo issued in July the Environment and Resources Authority has come out strongly against sanctioning the irregularities, consisting of a basement and a pool. 

Aerial photos on the authority’s website show that the pool was developed illegally between 2008 and 2012.  

Moreover, according to the ERA a comparison of photos taken in 1978 and 2013 shows that the site “has been subjected to interventions of significant environmental concerns.”

The Environment and Resources Authority had lashed out against “the malpractice of first carrying out development within ODZ (outside development zone) without the required permits and subsequently expecting the regulatory authorities to retroactively sanction a fait accompli.”

The ERA has also described the irregular pool as incompatible with the rural characteristics of the area and as a “flagrant example” of disregard for environmental considerations. 

According to the ERA the approval of this application would create an “undesirable precedent for similar future developments in the area.” 

An enforcement order dating back to 2005 had been issued against the irregular basement. 

The case officer who recommended approval insisted that the swimming pool respects the rural context and its deck does not exceed the 75 square metre limit set in policy guidelines for ODZ development. The new building, which will replace the existing one, will not exceed the total area of the original building as dictated by planning policies. The owners have committed themselves to remove a number of demountable tents, which were also developed irregularly.

The 1969 permit had specified that the inn “should not be higher than the level of the road.”