Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462122
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Beef Bar restaurant on the promenade of Dawret il-Gżejjer in Bugibba is seeking permits for three single-point moorings and a 15m-long floating pontoon for the fore-shore next to the Sere- na lido. Although not designated a swimming zone, the seabed forms part of a wider marine protection area, and the rocky foreshore is still undeveloped. The Environment and Re- sources Authority has already warned that such a development would set a precedent for more development along the coast- line. The restaurant wants the pon- toon to serve as a landing point for sea-borne customers owing to its coastline location, between May and mid-September before being dismantled. The pontoon and its gantry will cover a 600sq.m area, extending for 15m with three single moor- ings some 55m off the coast- line. The pontoon will be kept in place with three one-tonne counterweights and cables. AIS Consultants, who penned Beef Bar's project development statement, acknowledged the pontoon would increase mari- time traffic, and "could lead to a domino-effect for the local com- mercial activities in the area". Annual anchoring of the float- ing pontoon may also cause physical dislodgement of pro- tected seagrass species, and shading of underlying species. But AIS claimed these impacts are minor in what is not a swim- ming zone, and possibly miti- gated by erecting a silt curtain during construction. The Environment and Re- sources Authority however said the pontoon would lead to up- take and formalisation of the natural coast, which is still rel- atively open and pristine, cre- ating pressures for further de- velopment, and an undesirable precedent for similar future pro- posals in other sensitive areas. The site is a Special Area of Conservation, called Żona fil- Baħar fil-Grigal ta' Malta, a Nat- ura 2000 site hosting protected habitats like Posidonia beds and protected species, such as the endemic and endangered Mal- tese Top-shell. Restaurant pontoon for seaborne patrons is new threat to coastline Beef Bar's pontoon wants to attract visiting boats to lido and restaurant with 15m-long f loating deck