Tuna mogul Charles Azzopardi is seeking to add an additional floor to an already approved seven-storey hotel after withdrawing a similar application in January.
The property, formerly the four-storey Sea Breeze guesthouse, is right on the Birżebbuġa seafront on Triq il-Bajja s-Sabiħa. In 2020, the Planning Authority approved a permit that would see the hotel expand from 32 rooms to 86.
The maximum height in the area should have been limited to five floors, however, an additional two floors were permitted due to a policy which allows hotels an extra two storeys above the approved height limit.
Originally, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) had expressed concern on the development’s increased height due to its proximity to the urban conservation area and worries that the hotel would visually dominate the vistas around Pretty Bay.
The PA’s case officer had also recommended the application for refusal due to the creation of blank party walls.
Last year, Azzopardi filed another application that would have seen plans for the hotel climb to a total of nine storeys. The SCH had objected to the request for additional floors and the applications received over 600 objections, including from the Birżebbuġa local council. The PA’s case officer again recommended refusal, however, before the case was decided, Azzopardi withdrew the application.
A new application, PA/02980/22, seeking to build an additional level on top of the approved Sea Breeze hotel, was published last week. The additional proposed floor would bring the number of rooms in the hotel up to 100. The same application is also seeking to incorporate a sub-station within the development.
The case has yet to receive a formal recommendation from the PA. Representations for the application close on June 3, with the case expecting to be heard by the PA in August.
On Monday a PA spokesperson told Times of Malta that the proposed application did not exceed the overall height limitation approved in a previous permit, and the proposal remained within the approved building envelope of PA5429/19.