Din l-Art Helwa against proposal to regularise Paradise Bay lido

An application to regularise various illegal works at Paradise Bay carried out over and above a permit issued in 1999 has been met with the disapproval of environmental NGO Din l-Art Helwa.

The application was presented by Kenneth Micallef on behalf of DIKK Ltd. The plans were drafted by architect William Lewis, currently the Labour Party’s organising secretary.

In an objection sent to the Malta Planning and Environment Authority the long established ENGO objected to any sanctioning of any illegal extension of the lido into the surrounding area, noting that the permit issued in 1999 had already considerably enlarged the lido.

“What was (in the 1960s) a small lido has now grown in proportion in a way that it overpowers the bay, extending from one side to the other,” it said.

Din l-Art Helwa is objecting to any regularisation of a terrace adjoined to the lido which has taken an “extensive area of the bay” and should be reverted back to the original natural state. It is also objecting to a proposed 100 square metres store.  The ENGO is also objecting to the placing of tables and chairs on the roof over the lido, noting that this would only increase the volume of the development. Din l-Art Helwa insists that the site should be restored in a way which creates a “gentle gradient to the bay.” 

Currently MEPA is banned by law from regularising any development on scheduled locations such as Paradise Bay, which is a Special Area of Conservation and a Natura 2000 site. 

But the new MEPA law proposes the deletion of the Sixth Schedule, which will be replaced by the imposition of daily fines.

In March 2014, the owners of the Paradise Bay restaurant were served with an enforcement order against the construction of an illegal canopy covering the restaurant’s terrace, the construction of a room being used as a kitchen, the creation of concrete paved areas used for placing of sunbeds and umbrellas, the levelling of pathways and the development of cladded boundary walls between sand level and concrete area. 

The first enforcement notice against concrete paving in the same site was issued in 1993.  But in 1999 MEPA issued a permit for additions and alterations to an existing restaurant. 

Plans presented by the developers show that most of the restaurant area is covered by the 1999 permit which even includes a small area which was never developed, but the stairs and parapet are completely irregular. 

Two applications to regularise the development were rejected in 2004. 

In 2008 MEPA issued enforcement notices against two rooms built without a permit. A year later an enforcement order was issued against the deposit of concrete to form passages, the deposit of construction material and new boundary walls without a permit on a scheduled property.