Thousands of objections to Comino proposal despite Hili’s PR offensive

The submission of objections to the development of Comino being organised by Moviment Graffiti has to date collected well over 10,000 objections. The Planning Authority site, meanwhile, has close to another 900 direct objections.

People are well aware that the fears being voiced by environmental NGOs of what could happen if the proposed development of Comino were approved are not unfounded.

Over the years, there have been several instances of companies striking deals with the government that saw land previously designated for tourism purposes transformed to accommodate high-priced residential or commercial units.

Leading environmental NGOs have urged the public to oppose the project, arguing that the development could become a “Comino village” of permanent residences through legal loopholes and added that it is “shocking that such a development is even being considered”.

The plans for Comino, which the Planning Authority (PA) is presently considering, would see the site of the former Comino Hotel redeveloped. This will include the replacement of the nine derelict bungalows at Santa Marija Bay with a larger complex of 19 villas, complete with a convenience store and amenities.

As the number of objections against plans to create a complex of villas on the island of Comino continues to rise, the company behind the proposal, MV Hospitality, reacted by pledging that it will “respect and uphold Comino’s Natura 2000 status”. More recently, it stated that it has “no intention or interest” in turning the development into a residential site.

Corinthia Ħal Ferħ

In 2021, The Shift reported on Corinthia’s deal with the government on the luxury residential project after the controversially low amount of compensation paid by the hotel group to turn former public land into luxury residential villas.

Initially, the Ħal Ferħ complex (Għajn Tuffieħa), a former British military barracks converted into a tourist complex by Air Malta, was sold by the government to Island Hotels Ltd to be repurposed as a timeshare tourism complex. However, the deed stipulated that this land would only be used for tourism purposes.

Yet, soon after Corinthia bought Island Group, formerly owned by the Zahra family, Alfred Pisani (one of the founders of Corinthia Group) changed the plans for the area and abandoned the timeshare project. Instead, he entered discussions with the government for part of the land to be used to build 25 luxury residential villas, significantly raising the commercial value of the project.

In June last year, The Shift reported that Corinthia Group had flattened a parcel of land at Ħal Ferħ when it had not yet received the permit from the Planning Authority to develop the 25 residential villas.

Joseph Portelli’s Jerma Project

In July, the Marsaskala Residents Network expressed strong objections to any extension of the built footprint of the abandoned Jerma Hotel site after The Shift revealed that the project fronted by Joseph Portelli was selling residential units when an application for a permit had not even been filed.

The site of the abandoned Jerma hotel, after the hotel closed its doors in 2007, was strictly for tourism development and the previous site owners went through a decade of failed attempts to obtain approval to tear down the hotel and build a mixed-use complex.

Three months after Portelli’s acquisition of the Jerma site, which was previously designated as a tourism-only site, the government changed the development brief, allowing for residential development.

Eden Leisure Group’s commercial office space

In August, the Eden Leisure Group was advertising banners on the new development stating “commercial retail and office spaces” were “coming soon”, even though this goes against the permit conditions.

Initially, the Planning Authority had objected to the building of the 13-storey hotel opposite the Intercontinental Hotel in Paceville, as it included two office floors, which is not permitted according to the Height Limitation Policy.

After the Malta Tourism Authority approved the touristic development, the Planning Authority conceded.  It, however, insisted a condition be imposed – the two additional floors would only be used as part of the hotel and only to host the employees of the same group, including those of other hotels in the area, including the Intercontinental. Furthermore, they were not to be rented out as commercial office spaces.

Even before the project was built, the space was already being marketed for rent despite the public deed between the Planning Authority, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Eden Leisure Group.

Fortina Hotel

In 2017, a residential complex comprising 109 apartments rising 15 floors above street level was included in a planning application that envisioned demolishing the existing Fortina 4-star hotel and adding five additional floors to the existing 17-storey hotel tower.

Including  21,000 square metres of apartments in the Fortina development indicated that the government had changed the area’s zoning, which was transferred to the developers in the 1960s on the condition that its use is limited to tourism development.

When The Shift asked Carlo Mifsud, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lands Authority at the time, whether the Lands Authority had approved any changes to the original deed to enable residential development, the questions went unanswered.

Objections to the Comino application PA/4777/20 can be submitted to the Planning Authority by 23 January online at: https://pa.movimentgraffitti.org/permit/24