'Dangerous' ex-Jerma building should be demolished, local council insists

Marsascala local council sent a letter to the Chairman of the Planning Authority (PA), urging it to release an enforcement order so that developers can start demolishing it immediately.

"Three years from the date of the first enforcement order, now the site is in a bad state and is extremely dangerous. Urgent action needs to be taken immediately," Marsascala local council executive secretary Josef Grech wrote.

He said he hoped that the PA would adopt his proposal in the shortest time possible and publish a new enforcement order according to all legal procedures.

The ex-Jerma building is proposed to turn into a hotel of up to 14 storeys. Developers have submitted plans for the construction of a hotel, residences and retail space on the site that will see the building rise 65.5 metres from road level. The project also envisages a public park around St Thomas Tower.

A letter had been sent by the Marsascala local council’s executive secretary to the Planning Authority in July 2015, saying that “the council is opposed to any application which includes the development of apartments”.

In 2016 the PA had issued an enforcement order to force the site's current owners - the Montebello Brothers - to demolish the dangerous structure.

But the enforcement order was revoked by the Planning Review Tribunal due to a technical error in the way the enforcement order was worded