A Planning Commission has ordered a clampdown on illegalities at a snack bar in St Julian’s before a planning application to turn the place into a restaurant can be considered.

The commission suspended the application for the conversion of three townhouses into a full-blown restaurant – which is already in operation – and gave the applicant two months to address the illegalities. 

It also asked the Planning Authority’s enforcement section to visit the site to determine if all the illegalities are included in the applicant's request for sanctioning. 

“All issues have to be addressed. If there’s anything which is illegal, it cannot be used and it has to go. If being operated without a permit, enforcement should stop its use,” chairman Martin Camilleri ruled as he ordered an on-site inspection. 

Filed by Nicolas Suarez, application PA/05390/20 is for internal and external alterations to connect three townhouses in Triq il-Mensija, which lies partly in the St Julian’s urban conservation area, and change their use from residential to a Class 4D outlet. 

The applicant already has a permit to run a snack bar from one of the houses but wants to upgrade it to a restaurant. However, the commission heard that multiple works had been carried out without planning permission.

It suspended the application until all matters are addressed. St Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg told the commission that the applicant clearly did not respect the law for otherwise, development would have stopped when enforcement notices were issued.

“This is literally in the heart of a residential area. Residents have already filed police reports about excessive noise. There needs to be balance between commercial and residents’ needs,” he said.

“For the common good, the council believes the board should uphold the case officer’s recommendation for refusal,” he added.

The rules governing food and drink establishments in town centres limit the floor area to 50 square metres and this one would be nearly five times bigger, Buttigieg argued.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage said the interventions were detrimental to the property and to the streetscape within a UCA.

The applicant’s architect, Adrian Mangion, said that though he could not justify works without a permit, the property had always been a snack bar and the application was for an expansion.