Five new kiosks at Ramla l-Hamra Bay will replace illegal structures

Five new kiosks are set to be constructed at Ramla l-Ħamra Bay under a government-backed redevelopment plan, which planning officials say would simultaneously eliminate existing illegal structures.

The plan will bring an end to three outstanding enforcement cases in the area that have been there for years.

The application, submitted by the Gozo Ministry, proposes a reorganisation of the area previously used for temporary kiosks, replacing them with five permanent catering establishments alongside relocated public toilets, a new Emergency Rescue and Response Corps clinic, a beach facility office and traffic management measures along the approach road.

The masterplan for the area submitted in 2020 is now set for approval by the Development Management Directorate, with the final decision to be taken by the Planning Board on 12 March.

Ramla l-Ħamra

Central to the case officer’s assessment is the site’s enforcement history. The area is currently subject to three notices (EC 118/12, EC 52/16 and EC 43/19) relating to kiosks erected without permits on scheduled land. The report stresses that the application does not seek to sanction these illegalities. Instead, it requires their demolition as a precondition for development.

The existing kiosks had been issued with a permit in 2000, but this was issued with a condition that these could operate between May and October with the permit being valid for only five years.

Following consultation with the Enforcement Directorate, the Planning Directorate is now recommending that any permit issued will remain non-executable until the applicant submits photographic proof that all unauthorised structures identified in the demolition plans have been removed.

Only after verification would the authority release the approved drawings and commencement notice, effectively linking the project’s implementation to the clearance of enforcement breaches.

Officials describe the scheme as a masterplan aimed at reorganising already disturbed land rather than expanding development within the environmentally sensitive bay. The site falls within a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation and an Area of High Landscape Sensitivity, though environmental authorities raised no objection provided strict safeguards are followed, including limits on land take-up, protection of rubble walls and mature trees, and controlled waste management.