The Planning Authority’s design advisory committee has expressed concern that a Valletta hotel’s rooftop canopy may leave a negative visual impact on the area.

In a new planning application, PA/03494/22, the management of the Iniala Hotel is seeking to make some minor interior alterations and use the roof level as a terrace.

However, the same application is also seeking to sanction a retractable enclosure on the hotel’s receded terrace as well as signage that has been installed at the hotel’s main entrance.

The application has yet to receive a formal recommendation

When considering the additions, however, the PA’s design committee expressed its reservations.

“Noting that the site lies within a UNESCO World Heritage site and an Area of High Landscape Value, the committee is concerned about the visual impact of the proposal,” it said in the submission on the application.

The Iniala Harbour House, a luxury boutique hotel, is part of a row of pristine 19th-century houses on the Santa Barbara Bastion, a fortification with historical and cultural value.

The area is also demarcated as an urban conservation area.  The application has yet to receive a formal recommendation from the PA’s case officer.

Representations are open until June 24 with the case due to be heard in September.