The Planning Commission is this week expected to sanction illegal works on the site of the Barracuda and Piccolo Padre restaurants, a protected building in Balluta Bay, St Julian’s.
The illegal works included the dismantling of traditional Maltese timber balconies on the façade, apertures and historic wrought iron railings and the developer has now included a line in his application to replace them with replicas.
Inside the scheduled building, workers removed extremely rare traditional patterned tiles from the first-floor level and thrown in a dumpster.
Works also included several other internal alterations.
The application that will be brought before the Planning Commission (PA3863/21) requests permission for the change of use from offices to a restaurant, as well as internal alterations and also to the façade, including dismantling of wrought iron railing.
The application had been suspended at the request of the architect when the illegal works were undertaken. It now includes the installation of replicas of the original timber balconies and apertures, restoration and the installation of original wrought iron railings.
The illegal work had been stopped by the Planning Authority in January after having been flagged by St Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg on New Year’s Day.
They continued into the next day, a Sunday until workers were eventually stopped on Monday afternoon.
Buttigieg had lambasted the authority for sleeping on the issue for three days before action was taken and the delaying tactics allowed the developer to make irreversible damage to the façade and interiors of the landmark-protected Grade 2 seafront property.
The contravenor, Carlo Stivala, is a development tycoon with multiple property interests across Malta.
He received properties valued at more than €81 million when he split from his family business in 2020.
Stivala has already lost a €2,300 bank guarantee after the conditions attached to permit PA 6075/16, which the PA approved in October 2017, had not been respected.
In January 2022 the PA’s executive Council imposed a €50,000 fine for the removal of the timber balconies, apertures and wrought iron railings from the facade and also the removal of traditional palatines from the first-floor level without a permit. The contravener lodged an appeal against this fine.
The approved work included sanctioning a temporary steel structure to prop up and link side balconies on the façade following the collapse of the terrace between the balconies and the sanctioning of a platform and canopy of the lower terrace.
The case officer in the latest application recommended the sanctioning request for approval, demanding a €600 fine for the illegal works. He also noted that the enforcement notice issued over the works was still in force and the developer was incurring daily fines of up to €50. The developer must pay a fine of a higher value.
“In view that the site lies within a protected area, the Planning Commission should indicate whether the value of the fine needs to be increased by 100 per cent,” he added.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage did not object to the sanctioning application, the restoration of the building and the replacement of the original timber. It, however, issued several conditions and demanded the clearance of the works method statement before any work starts.