Marsaskala council calls for removal of Jerma Hotel ruins

The Marsaskala local council has called on the Planning Authority to remove the ruins of the former Jerma Hotel, warning that it poses a public health hazard.

“This monstrous and abandoned structure must be instantly demolished, even if developing permits on the site are still pending,” the council’s executive secretary Josef Grech wrote in an email to PA chairperson Vincent Cassar that was copied to the press.

“We hope that the Planning Authority takes immediate and urgent action to safeguard public health, for the benefit of Marsaskala residents and visitors and in the national interest.”

The land on which the Jerma Palace Hotel was built originally belonged to the Franciscan Conventuals and Ivan Burridge, and was sold to San Tumas Holdings, which in turn sold it to the Libyan investment vehicle Lafico in 1976. Corinthia used to manage the hotel through a management agreement.

The hotel was never developed since closing down in the 2000s and then sold to JPM Brothers –owned by Peter and George Montebello - in 2007. The Montebellos have planned to redevelop the site into a complex of residential units, a five-star hotel and a yacht marina. However, their plans have been hampered by an accountant’s demands for €3.5 million in outstanding claims for his services to the Montebellos. The accountant was last year granted a precautionary warrant in court to stop the sale of the former hotel and the surrounding land.

Nationalist councillor and Front Harsien ODZ activist Charlot Cassar had originally moved a council motion calling on the PA to immediately remove the ruins. The motion was seconded by vice-mayor Desiree Attard and approved by the council.