The Planning Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage endangered Valletta’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site when they sanctioned an illegally built structure along the Tigné coast in an area of high landscape value, environmental NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar said.

The site lies within the buffer zone for the safeguarding of Valletta’s status as a World Heritage Site. A wall forming part of a structure hosting a Fortina Hotel restaurant overlooking the lido now hides views of Valletta from a public pavement in Sliema. 

At its September 2023 Riyadh Conference, Unesco had issued a statement “noting that the Maltese authorities made no reference to height increases in projects within and in the vicinity of Valletta” and suggested that the Maltese government “pays particular attention to the indirect and cumulative impacts of the many projects proposed in Valletta and its buffer zone,” the FAA said.

Yet the Planning Authority was ignoring such clear warnings, the FAA said in a joint statement with the Sliema Residents Association.

The two NGOs explained that the Valletta Management Plan called for the safeguarding of the views and vistas of Valletta, and the Valletta buffer zone was created to safeguard such views.

They observed that the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage had said the impact was insignificant while the developers’ architect claimed that the structure ‘does not excessively break the view from the promenade.’

"Whether the impact is significant or not excessive is subjective; clearly the structure’s impact on the views is a negative one and not positive," the NGOs said.

Part of the restaurant overlooking the lido. (FAA)