Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1424528
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS JOBSPLUS PERMIT No: 20/2020 Officer—Regulatory and Corporate Affairs The Regulator for Energy and Water Services is seeking to recruit an Officer—Regulatory and Corporate Affairs. The selected candidate must be a graduate with a first degree in Accountancy (Honours) or in possession of ACCA or equivalent professional qualification. Candidates must have the ability to communicate in the Maltese and English Languages and proficient in widely available software packages. Interested persons are requested to send their application, together with a detailed CV, by not later than noon of Friday, 15th November 2021. Further details with regards to this post may be obtained from the office of the Chief Executive Officer on telephone number 22955121 or on request by email at: ceo@rews.org.mt or from the Regulator's website. Applications marked Private and Confidential, are to be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Regulator for Energy and Water Services, Zentrum Business Centre, Level 1, Mdina Road, Qormi, QRM 9010, or by e-mail to ceo@rews.org.mt. All applications shall be acknowledged and treated in the strictest confidence. Zentrum Business Centre, Level 1, Mdina Road, Qormi, QRM 9010. http://www.rews.org.mt Environmental and Resourc- es Authority (ERA) to assess whether the project requires an environmental impact as- sessment, and proposed miti- gation measures such as a ban on construction during the breeding season. AX Holdings wants to re- place the two lidos and the Luzzu restaurant with an un- derground car park, new res- taurants, public spaces, shop- ping malls and more extensive pool facilities. The application promises "a wider promenade walk" and an "upgrade" of the open space in front of the Sun- ny Coast Hotel. The Salina Nature Park, a Natura 2000 site that is 300m away from the proposed devel- opment, is protected under the EU's Habitats Directive, and hosts a variety of local and mi- gratory bird species. Birdlife warned that during the demolition and construc- tion phase, the site is likely to become "a source of vibration, noise and light pollution" po- tentially affecting the Special Area of Conservation at Salina. Moreover Birdlife warned that silting from the site may be carried over to Salina Bay, affecting the marine ecology. One solution proposed by Birdlife is that works are avoid- ed during the breeding season, which lasts from March to June. Birdlife is also insisting on a sound waste management plan, to prioritise the reuse of the large amount construction waste, which will be created by the project by the project. To address light pollution Birdlife has called for a light- ing scheme based on environ- mental guidelines, noting that the Qawra/Bugibba coastline is already an intense source of coastal light pollution result- ing in yearly seabird ground- ings in the area. Xuereb's proposal is being presented in two distinct plan- ning applications: an outline application to set parameters for the development; and a full planning application limited to the seaside lido belonging to the Suncrest. AX Holdings do not own the entire 13,000-sq.m site but hold the premises under "a ti- tle of lease" and are carrying out the relative works "under a scheme of a government en- tity." In August 2013 Angelo Xuer- eb had presented an applica- tion to "sanction" (regularise) the existing lido, two restau- rants, two bars, spa, dive cen- tre and a lotto office in a clear indication that these deviated from previously issued per- mits. This application was withdrawn three years later. In May the Planning Authori- ty also approved an application for an extension of the exist- ing Suncrest hotel through the replacement of an existing re- ceded floor with two full floors and an additional two receded floors resulting in the addition of 166 guest rooms. This will raise the height of the hotel from 8 to 11 floors. JAMES DEBONO LANDOWNER Kenneth Abela is seeking modifications to plans for a hotel development ap- proved in 2018 that will replace the old derelict hotel building overlooking the Kalanka beach. The latest plans foresee a larg- er footprint over the site than the approved permit, but the building itself will be one storey lower, respecting the contours of the bay. The hotel will also be receded further away from the cliff-face. A project development state- ment by ADI Consultants stated that architect Chris Briffa had "considered geo-technical issues by receding the hotel away from the cliff face." The controversial hotel replaces a derelict hotel built in the 1950s, and was approved in an Area of High Landscape Value and Area of Ecological Importance despite objections by the Environment and Resources Authority, whose chairman Victor Axiak had voted against the development. The development is described as an "ecological boutique hotel" of 17 luxury suites and 1 pres- idential suite. Its amenities in- clude a restaurant, beach bar, un- derground spa and outdoor pool. While the proposal envisages an increase of one room over what was approved in 2018, the restau- rant areas have been decreased by over 40%. The new application foresees extending landscaped areas to rooftops and terraces and remov- ing the lower basement level, re- sulting in a reduction in the over- all height level. The main difference between the approved development and the new proposal is in breaking down the mass of the four-sto- rey structure into a series of de- tached, cabin- like guest rooms with open spaces of vegetation and undergrowth integrating with the surrounding land- scape. Overall the hotel's gross floor area will be reduced from 2,950sq.m to 2,600sq.m. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage described the proposal as "more acceptable" in terms of its spatial relation to the open areas than the one approved in 2018. The ERA is awaiting the results of more studies before commenting on the latest plans. Less imposing design reduces hotel height but extends footprint over larger area Delimara hotel may get one storey haircut The Delimara hotel as approved in 2018 (top), and as now proposed in the latest plans (centre) Bottom photo: the present state of the Delimara hotrel