Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542030
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 DECEMBER 2025 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 The second application con- cerns the Marina Hotel with- in the Corinthia Beach Resort complex. Here, the developer is proposing two extra floors that would increase the hotel's ca- pacity by 101 rooms, from 200 to 301, alongside 6,058 square metres of additional gross floor area. The third proposal involves the Corinthia St George's Bay Hotel itself, where a similar two-storey extension would add 77 rooms, raising capacity from 248 to 325 rooms. All three sites fall within designated Resort Zones un- der the North Harbour Local Plan, which formally adopts a restrictive approach to build- ing heights. However, in each case, the Planning Authority's Development Management Di- rectorate has recommended approval in principle, arguing that the developments qualify for exceptions under the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy for Hotels. This policy allows additional height for hotel de- velopments in urban and tour- ism areas, provided that the added floors are tied strictly to tourism use. Photomontages submitted by the applicants have been used to support the conclusion that the added height would not sig- nificantly alter the skyline when viewed from key public vantage points. In all three cases, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage ultimately raised no objection, despite the proximi- ty of scheduled heritage assets such as the Torri ta' San Ġorġ, citing the intensely urbanised setting. Traffic and infrastructure impacts were also assessed in broadly similar terms across the three applications. Infra- structure Malta did not require site-specific transport impact assessments, pointing instead to wider "holistic" transport studies for the Paceville and St Julian's area. Parking provision was deemed adequate, allowing the Direc- torate to conclude that the de- velopments would not generate unacceptable traffic impacts on their own. Environmental concerns, in- cluding potential impacts on the nearby Natura 2000 coastal site, were dismissed on the ba- sis that all three proposals are confined to existing footprints, with no extension towards the shoreline. The Environment and Resources Authority con- cluded that no significant envi- ronmental impacts were likely, subject to standard construc- tion management conditions. One of the few formal ob- jections came from Din l-Art Ħelwa in relation to the Mari- na Hotel proposal. The NGO warned that the cumulative effect of multiple hotel expan- sions in St George's Bay would exacerbate congestion, strain infrastructure and further erode the area's environmental quality. However, these concerns were effectively neutralised in the case officer report, which ar- gued that cumulative impacts were being addressed through wider transport planning and that the individual proposal complied with existing policy frameworks. In all three applications the applicant will have to sign a binding tripartite agreement with the Planning Authority and the Malta Tourism Au- thority which would legally tie the additional floors to hotel use only, explicitly prohibiting conversion to residential apart- ments or other non-tourism uses. All three applications are for outline development permis- sion. This means that, even if approved on 29 January, no con- struction can commence until full development applications are submitted and approved, covering detailed architectural design and landscaping. None- theless, outline approval would establish the principle of addi- tional height and capacity, sig- nificantly narrowing the scope for refusal at a later stage. A total of 250 hotel rooms will be added across three applications The Corinthia San Gorg (extension in white) The Marina Hotel (extension in white) The Radisson Hotel (extension in white)