Modernist HSBC branch in St Paul’s Bay faces the chop

A nine-storey hotel is being proposed in place of the former HSBC branch in Triq San Pawl, St Paul’s Bay. The building is a modernist design by architect Richard England from the 1960s and, according to conservation experts, has considerable architectural value.

Along with other bank branches then owned by Barclays, the building was designed in an international modernist aesthetic with regionalist nuances harking back to the Maltese vernacular.

The new application, presented by Bradley Vella, foresees the complete demolition of the existing structure and the construction of a three-star La Mer Hotel. The proposal includes three underlying basement levels, a reception lobby and restaurant at ground-floor level, eight overlying floors accommodating 75 hotel rooms, and a pool bar at rooftop level. In the application, Vella declared that he fully owns the property.

The building had already been earmarked for demolition under a previous application approved in 2015, which sought to replace it with a five-storey office block incorporating an HSBC branch at ground-floor level.

In comments given to MaltaToday in 2024, architect and conservationist Edward Said described the St Paul’s Bay branch as the best preserved and most worthy of protection among the bank branches built in the modernist style, and called for its inclusion on the list of scheduled buildings.

Despite similar concerns raised by Said and the NGO Din l-Art Helwa, the Planning Authority has already approved the demolition of another HSBC branch in Mellieħa, while a further application concerning the Paceville branch is still pending.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) had initially called for the integration of the modernist bank façade in Paceville, describing it as “a building of evident architectural value”. However, in a twist, the cultural heritage watchdog changed its position again in October 2023 after architect Richard England himself wrote to the Planning Authority stating that he had always “felt uncomfortable with the way this building turned out” and was not opposed to its demolition.