Enforcement on Fortina lido issued after request to sanction

The Planning Authority issued an enforcement notice to halt the construction of illegal structures at Fortina’s lido in Tigne’ after the company applied to sanction the development.

Headed by Robert Abela’s former adviser Oliver Magro, the Planning Authority issued an enforcement order to stop Fortina from making minor changes to its lido that deviated from approved plans.

The Planning Authority issued its stop notice only after the Fortina owners submitted their application to regularise their position after completing the necessary changes months ago.

The Planning Authority did not reply when asked whether it had failed to conduct any inspections during the works and whether it had only noticed the irregularities through Fortina’s application.

Last January, Fortina Developments Ltd applied to sanction changes that they had already made to their lido without a permit. The changes were made following the lease of the lido’s operations to DB Group.

These changes included landscaping, internal alterations to the restaurant to make it larger, and building a canopy and staircase structure. The application was made through architect Edwin Mintoff.

Residents are already opposing the latest application for sanctions. They claim that the new additions obstruct their views and criticise the Planning Authority for allowing the developers to do as they please.

The Fortina Lido has been a controversial topic for years. In 2023, the government passed a parliamentary resolution that was contested by the opposition to lease the public land occupied by the lido through a 65-year concession.

The developers were fined €70,000 for illegally occupying public land without title because the lido was built before the parliamentary concession was approved.

Confirming that the Fortina developers carried out the development without authorisation, the CEO of the Lands Authority, Robert Vella, admitted that they did not conduct any enforcement during the works as the Authority had no power to stop the illegal works.