Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1347847
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 MARCH 2021 NEWS Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges ANNOUNCEMENT - CALL XI European Regional Development Fund The Managing Authority for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 in Malta - The Planning and Priorities Coordination Division (PPCD) within the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) - would like to announce that it is launching a call for project proposals under the Priority Axis and Investment Priority listed below to be undertaken by Ministries, Government Departments and Public Sector entities. The call will close on 3 rd May 2021 at noon. Priority Axis 4 – 'Shifting towards a low-carbon economy': Investment Priority (IP) 4c Note: Only investments supporting energy efficiency targeting public infrastructure and public buildings will be considered for the purpose of this call. The online application form for the submission of project proposals is available on http://eufunds.gov.mt/opencalls (PPCD section). Supporting documentation including the eligibility guidance notes, the detailed guidance notes and indicators guidance notes relating to this announcement are also available on http://eufunds.gov.mt/opencalls (PPCD section). Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to Operational Programme I and the eligibility guidance notes in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. Further information on this call and on the European Structural and Investment Funds 2014- 2020 may be obtained from http://eufunds.gov.mt. Any generic queries and requests to participate in Information Sessions related to this Call can be sent to PPCD's email: info.eufunds@gov.mt until 15 th March 2021. Operational Programme I - European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 "Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges" Call part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund Co-financing rate: 80% European Union; 20% National Funds OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's ap- peals tribunal turned down yet another attempt to regularise a tented structure in front of the Porticello restaurant in Valletta. The illegal canopy occupies an area almost as large as the footprint of the restaurant building itself, and was set up on the quay right in front of the historical building's main façade, which once served as a portside police station. The saga had long irked fish- ermen who have long passed by the quayside restaurant's edge to reach boathouses that are also occupied by the Malta Sea Kayak Club. In its decision, the environ- ment and planning review tri- bunal (EPRT) underlined the difference between placing chairs and tables on an open space while keeping the con- nection with the public area open, and completely enclos- ing the same space with a tent structure, which it found unac- ceptable. The tribunal emphasized the importance of this public space, which is in close vicinity to the ferry linking Sliema and Valletta. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had strongly objected to the canopy, which dominates the façade of the former police station. Objec- tors had also complained that the enclosure obstructed a public passage leading to boat- houses used by fishermen and the Malta Sea Kayak Club. The site is covered by a pre- vious permit issued to Anthony McKay in July 1998 allowing the placing of 10 tables in front of an existing pizzeria. But in 2014 the Planning Authority is- sued a temporary permit, valid for six months, to "sanction the placing of outside tables and chairs" over larger area as well as an adjacent "tent structure." This application was present- ed by restaurant operator Dar- ren Debono, the former Malta international footballer now implicated in the Operation Dirty Oil fuel smuggling inves- tigation; in 2020, Debono was arrested and held in preventive custody. In 2015, Debono applied to convert the temporary tent into a permanent structure. But this application was with- drawn, only to be presented once again in 2017 by Marvin McKay, the son of Anthony McKay. The PA later issued an en- forcement notice against the tent in 2018 and McKay's ap- plication to sanction the tent was also refused. It was after the application was turned down that Marvin McKay pre- sented his appeal to the EPRT, thus further delaying any en- forcement action by the PA – this is because due to the ap- peal the PA had to suspend its enforcement action. In his submissions on behalf of McKay, architect and lawyer Robert Musumeci argued that since permits had already been issued for chairs and tables, the enclosure was not taking away any public land. Musumeci al- so referred to another permit for a similar structure for a nearby restaurant. In its 2018 decision, the PA had found the proposal to be in breach of the Grand Harbour Local Plan, which clearly states that no development which ad- versely affects historical monu- ments, can be allowed. The PA also concluded that the enclo- sure of the area for tables and chairs was impeding the pub- lic's enjoyment of the quay in question. The case officer had pointed out that while the placing of ta- bles and chairs in public spaces can enable some members of the public to enjoy these spaces comfortably, the link between the seated spaces and the rest of the public realm is interrupt- ed when such public spaces are completely enclosed, making it almost entirely impossible for non-paying members of the public to use these spaces. The restaurant, which origi- nally went by the name Scoglit- ti, had been blacklisted by the US government over the fu- el smuggling allegations first identified in a United Nations panel of experts report. In Sep- tember 2018 the US Treasury Department updated its sanc- tions list to reflect the change in the name of the restaurant, Porticello. Debono was one of four Maltese individuals and companies hit by sanctions re- lated to fuel smuggling out of Libya. The restaurant had been closed after Debono was arrest- ed in Catania on charges of fu- el smuggling in October 2017, but reopened in April 2018 af- ter being renamed Porticello. Appeals tribunal confirms illegal Valletta quayside restaurant 'extension'