A construction site that belongs to Michael Stivala has been ordered to stop operating after the Building and Construction Agency said the developer did not have “clearance” to work on parts of the site.

This comes as part of the site that is set to be turned into a new hotel appear to have already been built, despite not yet being covered by a valid planning permit.

Stivala, the Malta Developers Association president, is undertaking a sizable development project in Triq Sir Frederick C. Ponsonby on the site of the Blubay Hotel in Gżira.

A view of the building layout on Triq Sir Frederick C. Ponsonby as captured in 2016. Photo: Google Maps

The previous hotel has been demolished and a permit approved by the Planning Authority in 2021, PA/05032/20, allowed for the building of a new 11-floor hotel with 292 rooms and a roof-top pool and deck area.

However, in 2023, Stivala filed a new planning application, PA/04632/23, on the site to include more facilities in the hotel building, including a 150-seat conference hall and new group offices.

Other additions being sought in the new permit also include an underground parking level, gym and spa facilities as well as a restaurant, bar and lounge area on the ground floor.

This application has not yet been decided on by the PA and is currently awaiting a recommendation on whether it should be granted or not by the planning directorate.

The key difference between the two applications is that in the granted one, Stivala applied to build on an area located on the sites marked under door numbers 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61. However, in the pending application, the site plan has grown to reflect additional land in the project and the sites marked under the door numbers 41, 41a, 42, 43, 44 and 45.

As the permit seeking development on site 41 to 45 has not yet been decided, any work related to the Stivala hotel development effectively does not have planning permission.

The section in orange represents the area of the site covered by the first permit and the green section shows the property that was included in the permit application that has yet to be decided. Graphic: Karl Andrew Micallef

However, from a visit to the site, it appears that the buildings that once stood from 41a to 45 have already been demolished and are in the process of being rebuilt into a structure that appears to be part and parcel of the hotel development that is taking place on the former site of the Blubay.

A spokesperson for the BCA told Times of Malta that works had been stopped because the sites marked 41, 41a, 42, 43, 44 and 45 did not have BCA clearance for works to take place.

An administrative fine was imposed for the breach

The works were in violation of the subsidiary legislation that regulates the avoidance of damage to third-party property and an administrative fine was imposed for the breach.

Questions sent to Stivala and the Planning Authority remained unanswered at the time of writing.