Corinthia Group hotels are set to rise higher at St George’s Bay
Outline permits secure 252 new rooms across the three hotels
The three hotels owned by the Corinthia Group at St George's Bay are set to rise higher and get an additional 252 rooms after the Planning Authority granted permits on Thursday.
Each hotel was granted an outline development permit (PA 7049/24, PA 6774/24, PA 7470/24) after the Planning Board unanimously voted in favour of recommendations made by a planning case officer to approve the applications.
An outline permit is used by applicants to gauge whether the scale of their project is acceptable, but it is not a full development permit. They would need to apply for this separately.
The permits allow the total number of rooms across the Corinthia Hotel, the Marina Hotel, and the Radisson Blu Resort to increase from 711 to 963. Specifically, 77 rooms will be added to the Corinthia Hotel, 101 to the Marina Hotel, and 74 to the Radisson Blu Resort.
All three hotels will rise by an additional two floors, as the applicants leveraged the hotel height-limitation adjustment policy, which allows hotels to exceed the height limits set out in the local plan.
The Corinthia Hotel and the Marina Hotel will increase from six to eight floors, while the Radisson Blu Resort will rise from five to seven storeys.
To demonstrate that the proposed height increase would not cause significant visual impacts, the applicants presented digital renders showing db Group’s towers, currently under construction, in the background, illustrating that they would continue to tower over the three hotels.
The white shows the approved expansion of the Marina Hotel. Photo: Planning Authority
The white shows the approved expansion of the Corinthia Hotel. Photo: Planning Authority
The white shows the approved expansion of the Radisson Blu Resort. Photo: Planning Authority
In all cases, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage did not object to the developments, finding that the height increases would not have a physical impact on St George’s Tower.
The Environment and Resources Authority also raised no objections, stating that the height increases are unlikely to have significant environmental impacts on the nearby coastal Natura 2000 site.
The only objections came from NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, which objected to the Marina Hotel and Corinthia Hotel applications, arguing that the area is already seriously congested.
“When considered in light of the colossal density of further planned developments for the area, the cumulative impact will become all the more alarming and unmanageable,” the NGO said.
Apart from db Group's towers, the area is also subject to a proposal to revise the local plan, paving the way for three hotels at Villa Rosa.
A study carried out last year found that St George's Bay went from having one of the best water qualities to being one of the worst. The leading environmental consultant who carried out the study called for an end to further development in the area.