Work resumes on Manoel Island padel courts three days after protest

Construction work on 10 new padel courts resumed on Manoel Island on Monday, three days after a large protest against the project.

Videos and photographs show large trucks carrying rubble into the former Nicholl football ground, where the courts are being built alongside 20 others constructed before planning permission was granted.

Gżira United FC president Sharlon Pace told Times of Malta that "cleaning" and "maintenance works" were being carried out on the site. 

Earlier this month, the Planning Authority sanctioned the 20 courts and approved another 10, while imposing a €25,000 fine over the unauthorised works.

The application, filed by Pace, covers around 6,700 square metres of the former football ground near the island’s entrance. Previously, Gżira United argued that the padel courts are crucial to its survival, as it faces mounting financial pressure following the loss of the €10,000 monthly income it used to receive from MIDI.

The decision sparked widespread anger. On Friday protesters gathered at the site and marched towards Fort Manoel, calling on the government to honour its promise to turn Manoel Island into a national park. 

'Abela Żomm Kelmtek!' (Abela keep your promise!) spray painted on concrete slabs at the site of the padel courts.

Two NGOs, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and Din l-Art Ħelwa, announced that they would appeal the authority's decision, describing it as a "betrayal" of the government's promise to transform the island into a national park. 

On Friday, activists involved in the Manoel Island Post Għalina campaign said they felt they had been used as a “Trojan horse” by the government to remove MIDI, only for others to be allowed to use the land as they pleased.

A protester holds aloft a sign calling for "National Park not Padel Park" during Friday's event. Photo: Moviment Graffitti

Earlier this year, the government paid MIDI €43 million to terminate the concession covering Manoel Island and Fort Tigné. The sites were formally returned to the state in May, when Prime Minister Robert Abela promised that Manoel Island would become a public park.