PA postpones decision on illegal Manoel Island padel courts

Updated 6.24pm

The Planning Authority has deferred a decision on whether to greenlight an application to reinstate a sports ground on Manoel Island and sanction padel courts illegally built on the site. 

The PA’s board was informed that the architect of the application, filed by Sharlon Pace on behalf of Gżira United FC, could not attend Thursday’s hearing. Chairman Emanuel Camilleri proposed the deferral, to which the rest of the board agreed. 

No date has been set for the next hearing, but it is likely to be after the May 30 general election.

The application seeks full development permission for the “reinstatement of sports ground having variable sports uses with demountable glass structures” at Nicholl Ground, Triq il-Forti Manoel in Gżira. 

The case officer recommends granting the permit, subject to conditions and a €900 sanctioning fine.   

According to the case officer’s report, the proposal would see the former football ground refilled to its previous level, enclosed by a one-metre masonry wall and a six-metre protective fence, and divided into 30 padel courts using demountable glass structures. 

Padel courts already installed

Twenty of those courts are being proposed for sanctioning, meaning they had already been installed before planning permission was granted.   

The recommendation came after months of controversy over the works, which were first flagged by Momentum.  

The party questioned how a commercial padel park was being built on Manoel Island while the government was in talks to take over the island and turn it into a national park.   

Astrid Vella, coordinator of NGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Aħjar, who was due to attend the online meeting as an objector, said hearings are never postponed when objectors’ architects are unable to attend.

“So much for a level playing field,” she told Times of Malta. 

Vella also provided a photo of the courts at night, lit up by floodlights.  

“This is their idea of 'no visual impact',” she said. 

The padel courts at night. Photo: Astrid Vella/FAA

Vella also pointed out that the football club already had a permit for a football ground, “complete with stands and all facilities, plus boċċi pitch and clubhouse on Manoel Island, all compatible with Manoel Island as a park and recreational island.” 

"Sports facilities at Manoel Island need to be facilities for the benefit of the community, like a cricket field, which is almost non-existent in Malta and would serve as a much-needed means to integrate different ethnicities with local residents.” 

Earlier in May, fellow NGO Moviment Graffitti released drone footage showing the full extent of the padel courts complex. 

The NGO also questioned the speed at which the case officer’s report was published, just two days after the closure of the objection submission period.

'Disappointment' - Momentum

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Momentum expressed its "serious concern and disappointment" at the PA's decision, saying it only "prolongs uncertainty and raises further questions about whether the authorities are willing to uphold the rule of law consistently and without favour."

Momentum chairperson Arnold Cassola said the postponement "cannot become another tactic to eventually normalise illegality through delay and public fatigue".