Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546061
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 AUGUST 2026 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Db seeks to sanction extended lido at St George's Bay Man granted bail over St Julian's brawl that caused €9,500 in damage Four cars vandalised close to Sliema police station THE db Group wants to sanction unau- thorised excavation works at St George's Bay and extend the footprint of its Baga- telle Lido in a new application. The application (PA/05423/26) was pre- sented to the Planning Authority in April by db San Gorg Property Limited and was only published now by the authority. MaltaToday first reported the existence of the application back in April. It is still in the initial vetting stage and is expected to be issued for public consultation in the coming days. The application describes the addition- al 421sq.m site at Ix-Xatt ta' San Ġorġ as undeveloped land. The proposal involves the excavation of existing rock, the sanc- tioning of excavation of a concrete plat- form in front of the boathouses and the extension of an already approved lido and pool deck. The application refers to two previous permits, PA/03807/17 (the permit for the wider high-rise project which included a beach bar and storage facilities adjacent to the lido) and PA/07224/25. The latter permit, approved by the Plan- ning Authority in April, authorised the lido project involving the demolition of the existing 19th-century boathouses and their replacement with a pool and deck. The new application follows concerns raised during the Planning Authority's consideration of the lido project in March this year. NGO representative Romano Cassar had warned the board that works at the site appeared to have gone beyond the boundaries of the application before the permit had even been approved. Cassar said he had visited the site and found the area around the boathouses fenced off and excavated, with concrete pillars and a platform apparently ex- tending beyond the permitted footprint. He was the only board member to vote against the lido application. The Planning Authority subsequently confirmed that the concerns raised by Cassar were justified, with its Enforce- ment Directorate establishing that ex- cavation and clearance works had taken place on parts of the site not covered by a permit. A stoppage of works order was issued. The original lido permit covered just 292sq.m with the latest application seeking to expand this by an additional 421sq.m. The application also seeks to regularise the excavation that was car- ried out. The application states that part of the site is government-owned, while the applicant claims to have authorisation to carry out the proposed development through an agreement with the owner. JACOB Montebello was granted bail af- ter pleading not guilty to charges stem- ming from the fight outside Hugo's Burger in St Julian's, during which chairs and tables were allegedly hurled, causing an estimated €9,500 in damage. The 20-year-old appeared under arrest before the Court charged with causing damage to property, as well as disturb- ing the public peace during an incident which allegedly took place in the early hours of 19 July. The court heard that police launched an investigation after a fight broke out at around 4:20am in St Julian's, during which chairs were allegedly thrown. Vid- eos and photographs of the incident later circulated on social media, prompting investigators to identify Montebello as one of the alleged participants. When police initially went to arrest Montebello, they found only his moth- er at the family residence. A short while later, Montebello voluntarily presented himself at the police station. During his interrogation, Montebello exercised his right to remain silent but otherwise co- operated with the police investigation. The defence did not contest the validi- ty of the arrest, and Montebello pleaded guilty to the charges. The court also heard evidence from lawyer Antoine Depasquale, represent- ing the company which owns Hugo's Burger. He testified that the incident re- sulted in approximately €9,500 worth of damage to the establishment. Depasquale explained that discussions had taken place with the parties involved and, since it was not possible to establish who had caused each item of damage, an agreement was reached for the total amount to be shared equally. Under that agreement, Montebello is to pay €1,900 in compensation. The witness added that the company no longer had an in- terest in pursuing proceedings against the accused. The prosecution did not object to the defence's request for bail. The court deferred the case for five months and ordered Montebello to pay the €1,900 compensation before the next sitting. The court granted Montebello bail under a number of conditions. He was ordered to attend every court sitting, not to contact any prosecution witness- es, and to sign the bail book at the St Julian's Police Station two times a week between 6am and 9am. Bail was secured by a €5,000 personal guarantee, with no deposit required. The prosecution was led by Police In- spector Pierguido Saliba. The accused was represented by lawyer Chris Busiet- ta. Magistrate Nadia Vella presided over the case. FOUR cars were vandalised just minutes away from the Sliema police station in the early hours of Sunday morning. The vehicles sustained various forms of damage, including broken wing mirrors. One motorist said he parked his car on Triq Manwel Dimech at around 1:50am and returned at approximately 3:10am to find it damaged. Three other vehicles in the area were also vandalised. The motorists filed police reports and are hoping to obtain CCTV footage from the area to help identify those responsi- ble. A separate act of vandalism was re- ported in Swieqi just last Sunday, when residents shared footage of a young man breaking a car's wing mirror at around 6am. The footage shows the man repeated- ly punching the mirror until it falls from the vehicle. On Tuesday morning, the government announced that it had doubled the min- imum on-the-spot fine from €25 to €50. The fines were introduced last month following concerns over antisocial be- haviour, particularly involving tourists in busy areas such as Swieqi, Sliema and St Julian's. At least one of the vehicles had its wing mirror broken off