Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1483181
NEWS 7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 NOVEMBER 2022 materials" suitable to an area which is "highly exposed to the elements". The brief also states that the redevelopment of the site "should not ideally extend be- yond the existing footprint of the Chalet structure" but makes an allowance for a 150sq.m extension if a "sound justification" is provided. The brief also excludes any development on the foreshore between the Chalet and the Fortizza and the Chalet and Qui-si-sana. Moreover, the de- sign should take into account the existing landscape and should enhance the recreation- al value of the promenade. The brief also refers to the ex- posure of the site to north-east winds and the need of engi- neering works to mitigate such effects but specifies that these works "must be sensitively de- signed and cause the minimal environmental impact on the marine environment as well as the surrounding landscape". The brief itself is not limited to the redevelopment of the Chalet site but also foresees the development of an under- ground car park for 150 to 180 vehicles under the promenade. The brief also states that the development of the car park and commercial development on the chalet site should be "preferably carried out as a sin- gle proposal". However, although the re- quest for proposals issued on Monday refers to the param- eters set in the 2002 develop- ment brief, it makes no refer- ence to the development of a car park under the promenade. The RFP is limited solely to the concrete platform jutting out to sea. The Chalet saga Opened in 1926 the chalet dance hall at Ghar id-Dud was a popular rendezvous until 1963, when it was closed down due to severe deterioration that had rendered the structure un- safe. A tender for a 65-year con- cession to redevelop the Cha- let site and construct an un- derground car park under the promenade was awarded to Frank Schembri's C&F Build- ing Contractors in 2001. At that time the price tag for the development was set at Lm152,000 per annum (€ 365,000). But in the tender document the government reserved the right to withdraw the letter of acceptance if a full develop- ment permit was "not obtained within nine months". But a planning application submitted in 2002 envisaging the demolition of the Chalet structure, the excavation of the promenade and the con- struction of a car park and commercial outlets with wave protection measures, was never approved by the authority. Plans foresaw a ship-shaped structure atop the derelict Cha- let rising well enough above the 3.3-metre limit imposed by the development brief. Wide- spread opposition to the pro- ject was motivated by concern that excavation works for the car park posed a threat to the fragile cave system which ex- tends for 33 metres below the promenade and Tower Road. PA studies suggested that the iconic Għar il-Lembi and Għar id-Dud caves are already in danger of collapse. The Planning Directorate had recommended a refus- al of the application warning that the proposed excavations would seriously endanger, Għar il-Lembi and Għar id- Dud which are protected due to their ecological value. No final decision was ever taken by the planning board on the pro- posed project. Subsequently the Lands De- partment wrote to the com- pany withdrawing the letter of acceptance and in 2006 the government proceeded to de- molish the rusty pillars of the old structure clearing the site for bathers who frequent the area. Plans to commercialize the site were resurrected in 2017 when Tourism Minister Kon- rad Mizzi announced plans to revitalise the stretch of Sliema coast known as Għar id-Dud – between Fortizza and Tigné Point. Mizzi vaguely hinted that rev- enue from the commercialisa- tion of the Chalet site would be used to finance a new, free, public beach for Sliema. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Twanny Theuma via Sliema Past Times Facebook Opened in 1926 the chalet dance hall at Ghar id-Dud was a popular rendezvous until 1963, when it was closed down due to severe deterioration that had rendered the structure unsafe. A tender for a 65-year concession to redevelop the Chalet site and construct an underground car park under the promenade was awarded to Frank Schembri's C&F Building Contractors in 2001. At that time the price tag for the development was set at Lm152,000 per annum (€ 365,000).