Excelsior extension proposal revived

Plans to extend the Grand Hotel Excelsior below Valletta’s bastions have been revived, with updated drawings, renders and heritage studies being uploaded to the Planning Authority (PA) website.

The application, PA/10444/18, proposes a new wing of 77 guest rooms connected to the existing hotel, together with refurbishment of the outdoor pool and bar area and restoration works linked to the bastions.

The project has long been controversial because of its location beneath Great Siege Road, at the edge of the Valletta World Heritage Site.

The latest submissions include a heritage impact assessment (HIA), dated January-February 2025, and a June 2026 response from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Both documents appear to mark a significant shift in the application’s fortunes.

The HIA, commissioned by the Grand Hotel Excelsior, assesses the project against Valletta’s Outstanding Universal Value as a UNESCO World Heritage City. It concludes that the main heritage issue is not direct damage to the fortifications but the visual and landscape impact of a new block on the Marsamxett foreshore. It rates the impact on World Heritage values as ranging from negligible to moderate, with the strongest concern being the aesthetic effect on visual connections between the fortifications, the city and the sea.

Endorsement

The superintendence has now endorsed that assessment. In its latest letter to the PA, dated June 18, 2026, it says both the superintendence and the National World Heritage Technical Committee reviewed the HIA and agreed with its conclusions. They found that the impact of the proposed development would be “of an acceptable level” and that the Outstanding Universal Value of Valletta and the harbour fortifications would not be threatened.

The same letter states that the HIA was also reviewed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and ICOMOS and was deemed satisfactory by both entities.

That endorsement is, however, heavily qualified. The superintendence notes that the latest drawings reflect earlier recommendations, particularly a “considerable reduction in height and volume” of the proposed new wing. It says the wing would not extend above Great Siege Road, would not visually encroach on the lower part of the scheduled fortifications and would screen only the retaining wall carrying the road rather than the fortifications themselves.

The heritage watchdog also notes that no new works are proposed on or within the Quarantine Bastion, apart from reinstatement works, and that no works are proposed within the former Greek Orthodox cemetery.

The project was previously put on hold after the PA board expressed “serious concerns” about its design and its impact on the Valletta bastions. Board members had asked for revised plans, saying the massing needed to be fragmented and the design made more visually acceptable.

Conditions

Earlier versions of the scheme had attracted strong objections from heritage and environmental NGOs, including Friends of Villa Frere, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta and the Archaeological Society of Malta. Objectors argued that the extension would damage the skyline of Valletta and Floriana and undermine the relationship between the bastions and the sea.

UNESCO had also entered the picture after receiving third-party information about the proposal and consulting the Maltese authorities. At the time, the World Heritage Centre said it was seeking details from the state party in line with World Heritage Convention procedures.

The superintendence is now recommending favourable consideration, subject to several conditions.

The roof of the new wing must remain clear of services, air-conditioning units, water tanks, tables and chairs. Reinstatement of the Quarantine Bastion must follow the approved restoration method statement and be monitored by the superintendence’s Built Heritage Monitoring Unit. Any clearing or levelling must also be archaeologically monitored and any cultural heritage remains uncovered during works must be protected in situ.

A further condition is proposed as a reserved matter: within six months of any permit decision, the applicant must submit a cultural heritage restoration scheme targeting heritage assets near the hotel, with a minimum intervention value of €100,000. A separate development application for those works would then have to be filed within a year and completed within the validity period of the main permit.

The revived application, therefore, returns to the PA with the cultural heritage authorities no longer objecting in principle but making clear that their blessing depends on the reduced design, heritage monitoring and a separate restoration commitment.