The former headquarters of the Labour Party in Senglea, popularly known as il-Maċina, may get a new lease of life as a guest-house under a plan to regenerate the historic building, which has been in disuse for more than 20 years.

A development application filed last year seeks to convert the first and second floors into a guesthouse, with a restaurant and cafeteria at ground floor.

The developer, Mario Camilleri, is also seeking permission to open an additional eatery on the building’s roof which would be accessible to the public.

Architect Edwin Mintoff has already submitted plans, but the case officer’s report is still being compiled by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

In 2013, a permit was issued, also to Mr Camilleri, to convert the building into a cultural and tourist attraction with catering facilities. The project included the building’s restoration, the removal of several accretions and the installation of two public lifts between Triq 31 ta’ Marzu along Senglea Creek and the Maċina’s roof.

Attempts to regenerate this mid-17th century building, constructed durng the rule of the Knights of St John, go back to the end of the 1990s, when plans for the Cottonera marina were being drawn up.

Originally the building was used to hoist and lower sailing ships’ masts by means of a large crane-like structure which was fitted on top of it. In 1927, the structure was dismantled and replaced by a floating lift crane.

The site was later used as storage space, the Admiralty’s head office and as a trade school.

The Labour Party started using it as its headquarters in the 1970s, until it moved to its present offices in Ħamrun in 1994.