Billboard company director plans Delimara beach hotel

One of the directors of the company whose billboards stayed put on Maltese streets after being used by the Malta Labour Party in the 2013 general election, has requested a permit to redevelop a derelict building overlooking the picturesque Kalanka it-Tawwalija beach in Delimara.

The building, dating back to the 1950s, is located ODZ in an Area of Ecological Importance and an Area of High Landscape Value, scheduled in 1996. 

Kenneth Abela, the sole shareholder of Delimara Bay Hotel Ltd, filed the application. The company was registered under another name in May 2013 and had its name changed in February 2015.  

Abela told MaltaToday that he signed a promise-of-sale agreement for the derelict structure in June 2015, and signed the final contract to acquire the land on 15 August.

The 17-room hotel will be built over a basement, ground and first floor, using rubble masonry for its rustic look. A landscaping plan foresees the use of wooden decking around a pool, grass blocks and an afforested area around the hotel. The developer said the proposal includes “environmentally friendly measures”.

The application is still being screened by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which means MEPA has yet to inform the developers whether their proposal conforms to existing planning policies.

The application foresees an increase in the height and mass of the derelict structure as well as landscaping an area around the hotel.  

Although the site remained abandoned, an application for the “reinstatement” of the existing restaurant was approved in 1994 on condition that public access to the adjacent pathways was not blocked, and no structures whatsoever are allowed higher than the existing building. The application was subsequently renewed a number of times despite the scheduling of the area in 1996.

The proposed extension is over and above the small extension foreseen in the 2001 outline permit to its former owner Oliver Cachia, which was renewed in 2010. A full permit was never issued.

The case officer had then argued that its reuse as a bar and restaurant could be considered, but an extension was ruled out since the area had been scheduled in 1996.

The structure already has a 260 square metre roofed floor area that can serve as a bar and restaurant.

The hotel dates back to the 1950s and was operational in the 1960s and 1970s. The restaurant was still open in the 1980s. A Facebook page entitled “Lukanda ta’ Delimara” was recently set up inviting people to send old photos of the hotel.

Kenneth Abela had previously acted as a liaison between the Marsaskala Sports Club and Italian company Teseco in 2009, for the development of a yacht marina along the Marsaskala coast and to redevelop the national pool in Zonqor into a sports, residential and commercial complex.

Abela told MaltaToday that the project is “environmentally friendly” and that it will simply involve the re-opening of a hotel, using the same footprint of the existing building.

He said the hotel will be energy efficient and would have a “near zero carbon footprint.” A survey of endemic plants which will be retained is also being carried out.

He also insists that an outline permit already exists to increase the height of part of the hotel. “What we will be doing is increasing to level the height of the existing building, to that established in the permit issued in 2001.”

When asked about the financial viability of the hotel, he replied that he wants to attract “the ecological tourist” who comes here to enjoy the beauty of the place.

He also claims that the project will increase “surveillance” for the area where illegalities like dumping are rampant, and provide more facilities for people who frequent the beach. “Those frequenting the beach will at least have somewhere from where they can buy a bottle of water.”

Owner denies Labour link over hotel plans

Kenneth Abela, who claims sole ownership for the land in question, is also a director in Aiken Ltd, which provided 30 billboards for Labour’s election campaign and subsequent ad campaigns for the government and the hunters’ referendum campaign. One of Aiken’s beneficial owners is John Debono, Malta’s ambassador to Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.

Abela denied ever discussing this project with any government or MEPA official before presenting the application. He strongly denied any connection between his services providing billboards to the Labour Party before the election, and plans for the new hotel. “The contract for the new hotel was only finalized in August. How could there be any link between acquiring this land and another unrelated business activity?”

Abela also denied that the retention of his billboards on the streets after the elections passed, was in breach of the law. He said 30 of his billboards have a full permit, rendering them ‘permanent’, while another 30 are only brought out for temporary usage, which MEPA rules allow for political, information and charity campaigns for a 28-day duration only, without a MEPA permit.

This is because of a loophole in the regulations through which billboards can be used throughout the year, without a permit: they must be taken away for a day after 28 days, and then put again in place for another political or information campaigns, including those carried out by government entities.