Council warning about planned extension to club house

The St Paul's Bay local council yesterday warned that a planned extension to the club house of the Malta Young Sailors Club in St Paul's Bay would be directly on top of a sewage main, and that it would be very dangerous to excavate too close to the main.

The warning was contained in a letter to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which recently issued a development permit for the extension.

The club is currently housed in a stone Nissen Hut at Tax-Xama'.

Workers yesterday started excavation works for the extension.

"It would be extremely dangerous to excavate close to this rising main because of the extreme pressure that the main contains," mayor Paul Bugeja wrote.

"Any disturbance caused to it, or its operation, would be catastrophic to the entire locality of St Paul's Bay. All the drainage is pumped through this system to Pwales."

The application by the club, he wrote, was to construct a clubroom and create storage for sailing dinghies under a paved belvedere, for the Young Sailors Club.

The belvedere referred to in the proposed development was situated to the north of the existing club house, whereas all works being carried out were to the south side, he wrote. "On the southern area there is a sewage rising main..."

The mayor raised another issue. Clause 5 of the Original Decision Notice of the authority, he wrote, clearly stated that "public access around the coastline immediately adjacent to the sea shall not be restricted at any time". Clause 7 stated that "the road to the club house is to remain public".

These conditions have to be strictly observed at all times when the development is in progress and after completion.

"We also want to ensure that the only sandy beach in St Paul's Bay will remain intact. We cannot afford to lose one centimetre of the beach," the mayor said.

Residents had been complaining about encroachment on the tiny beach for quite some time, saying that their daily swim had been disrupted due to the lack of consideration shown by the members of the Young Sailors Club.

The club, the residents complain, allows its members to take the boats out on the slipway, barring access to the sandy beach, leaving boat trolleys on the sand and showering anyone who happens to be in the way when the club members hose down the boats.

The club was taking up all the space on the concrete ramp because it was not using a wooden adjustable ramp at one end of the concrete ramp.

Mayor Bugeja also said that the council would see to it that a handrail is put up on the steep ramp leading to the beach because it would help elderly folk and people carrying young children to go down to the beach.

The club has been using the club house overlooking the beach for the past three years. Before that they were sited close to the Cavalieri Hotel in St Julians, which has since closed down.

Mark Fleri Soler, vice commodore of the Malta Young Sailors Club, said the older club members were aware of the need to allow swimmers to use the sandy beach without any hindrance.

"The older members are extremely careful not to spoil the fun of the other users of the beach and the club makes it a point not to use the club house during weekends when more people use the beach.

"The adjustable ramp is not functional at the moment because one of the chains keeping it in place had snapped. We are making arrangements to have it back to working condition as soon as possible," Mr Fleri Soler said.

Mr Fleri Soler said the club was becoming ever more popular with young sailors aged between eight and 15. In December, the club organises a regatta which attracts about 90 sailors from all over Europe.

He said it was important for the club to have its own premises to further promote this sport and help bring in more visitors to these shores.