Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546155
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 AUGUST 2026 NEWS 'Construction of the hotel and bungalows will commence while appeal is ongoing' interventions covered by the permit are potentially irrevers- ible. The permit covers interven- tions affecting 1,054 trees and shrubs. A total of 678 specimens can be uprooted, including 54 pro- tected trees – 33 Aleppo pines and 21 cypresses – together with 624 non-protected speci- mens. The non-protected specimens include 468 oleanders, 125 Mexican fan palms and 31 Ca- nary Island date palms. Another 348 specimens can be transplanted, including 341 protected specimens, notably 230 protected tamarisks and 45 protected mastic shrubs, as well as seven non-protected fig trees. The permit also provides for 540 new indigenous trees as compensation for the 54 pro- tected trees being uprooted. If transplanted or pruned trees die, they must be replaced at a ratio of 1:10. The permit requires replace- ment and compensatory trees to come from the Comino ge- netic pool, with specimens be- ing cultivated in nurseries in Sicily. Hili said it has been prepar- ing for the project by growing mother plants from seeds na- tive to Comino and Gozo in a dedicated on-site nursery since 2023. It said transplanted spec- imens would be cared for there to maximise their chances of survival, while compost pro- duced on site would be reused in habitat restoration and land- scaping. The company also maintains that the eventual landscaping plan will result in significantly more trees and plants on the site than currently exist. But in a separate statement BirdLife Malta warned that "the decision prioritises devel- opment over nature protection, even within highly protected areas, and could cause irrevers- ible environmental damage." The environmental permit also covers temporary con- struction compounds, work- er accommodation, material storage, a batching plant and a temporary nursery on previ- ously disturbed ground. Machinery and waste must be transported by barge through the San Niklaw jetty, while movement around Comino is restricted to predefined roads and off-roading is prohibited. ERA has imposed further safeguards, including an inde- pendent environmental mon- itor, a €315,500 bank guaran- tee, restrictions on lighting, silt curtains and dust suppression measures. The environmental permit relates to the redevelopment of the former Comino Hotel at San Niklaw Bay and the bunga- low area at Santa Marija Bay, involving demolition of the ex- isting hotel and bungalows and construction of a new hotel and holiday villas, insofar as those works are already covered by the PA permit. PN calls for suspension of works The Nationalist Party has called on the government to suspend the Comino works un- til the planning appeal is decid- ed, arguing that the case high- lights the need for proposed reforms that would oblige development works to be sus- pended during an appeal. The reforms have not yet be- come law. The PN also wants the chang- es to cover appeals already pending and prevent separate authorisations, including ERA permits, from being used for irreversible works linked to de- velopments under appeal. The PN acknowledged that under the law currently in force, ERA cannot prevent works authorised under its per- mit from proceeding simply because the planning permit is under appeal. However, its representative on the ERA Board, Chris Cian- tar, voted in favour of allowing the preparatory works to pro- ceed, unlike NGO representa- tive Martin Galea De Giovan- ni. Moviment Graffitti has also warned against works starting while the planning permit re- mains under appeal. The organisation warned that allowing works to begin while the appeal is pending could re- sult in changes to Comino be- ing made before the legality of the development approval has been finally settled. In its decision, the Court of Appeal found that the EPRT had failed to properly distin- guish between legally author- ised and illegal existing devel- opment when establishing the project's baseline. The planning case was conse- quently returned to the tribu- nal for reconsideration. The dispute therefore centres not on whether ERA has grant- ed planning permission – it has not – but on the practical effect of its environmental authorisa- tion while the planning appeal is pending. ERA says its permit does not authorise excavation or dem- olition and cannot add to the development approved by the Planning Authority. For now, the planning per- mit remains executable during the appeal and the ERA envi- ronmental permit is in place. Hili has ruled out hotel and bungalow construction before the appeal is decided, while the implementation date for the permitted tree interven- tions remains open beyond the company's statement that they must take place during winter. Timeline June 2025 — Planning Authority grants PA/04777/20 for the development of 16 villas and a 140-room Comino Hotel. November 2025 — EPRT upholds the PA permit following an appeal by environmental NGOs. February 2026 — ERA grants EP 01472/22 covering interventions on trees at the Comino Hotel and Santa Marija bungalow area. March 2026 — Moviment Graffitti appeals the ERA permit. The EPRT revokes the environmental permit and sends the application back to ERA for reassessment. May 2026 — The Court of Appeal annuls the EPRT decision that had upheld the Comino development permit and sends the planning case back to the tribunal for reconsideration. May 2026 — The planning case is again before the EPRT. Under the law currently in force, lodging an appeal does not automatically suspend execution of a development permit. The PA permit therefore remains executable while the appeal is pending. 5 August 2026 — Moviment Graffitti warns that around 800 trees could be affected if ERA approves the environmental permit while the planning case remains unresolved. 7 August 2026 — ERA approves a fresh EP 01472/22, following the earlier EPRT revocation. The new permit covers environmental interventions connected to the approved hotel and bungalow development. 10 August 2026 — ERA tells MaltaToday that the environmental permit relates to works already authorised by a "valid and executable development permission" and says it does not prejudice the pending proceedings. A photomontage presented by the developer of how the bungalow area will look