db Group seeks to extend pool area on illegally excavated land

The db Group has filed a fresh application to sanction illegal excavation works and extend the footprint of its new St George’s Bay lido.

The new application was filed after the Planning Authority had approved the project in March despite warnings by a board member that works had already strayed beyond the permitted site.

During the 12 March board meeting, NGO representative Romano Cassar flagged what he described as a discrepancy between the approved site boundaries and what was physically taking place on the ground. Having visited the site, Cassar told the board that the area around the boathouses had already been fenced off and excavated, with concrete pillars and a platform appearing to extend beyond the application site.

He warned that the works could indicate irregular development encroaching outside the permitted footprint—raising potential conflict with coastal policy safeguards designed to protect public access and the integrity of the shoreline.

Cassar was the only board member to vote against the application back then.

Subsequent replies sent to MaltaToday by a Planning Authority spokesperson confirmed that Cassar’s concerns were not unfounded.

In fact, the Enforcement Directorate established that excavation and clearance works had indeed been carried out on parts of the site not covered by any permit, leading to a stoppage of works order by the Planning Authority.

But the story does not end there.

Following discussions with the project architect, a new sanctioning application has now been filed—not only to regularise the illegal excavation, including a concrete platform in front of the boathouses, but also to extend the developed footprint.

The request explicitly seeks the “proposed extension of existing area to approved lido and pool deck area” linked to the already approved permits.

The application is not yet public and MaltaToday could not verify by how much the approved lido will be extended. The original permit only covered 292sq.m of land. The Planning Authority has not issued an enforcement order against the db group because an application to sanction has now been submitted.

In effect, the sanctioning process is seeking to legitimise both the unauthorised works and a larger operational area for the lido.

The approval itself allows for the demolition of 19th-century boathouses—historically linked to the St George’s Barracks—and their replacement with a pool and deck integrated into the wider project. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had ultimately cleared the demolition after concluding that the structures’ heritage value had been compromised.

However, objections raised during the March meeting underscored wider concerns. Arnold Cassola argued that restoration should have been considered.

Despite this, the board approved the application by a wide margin.

The sequence of events lays bare a striking contradiction: The Planning Authority approved a project while allegations—later confirmed—indicated that parts of it had already been executed illegally and beyond its approved boundaries. Now, through the sanctioning process, those same works—and an expanded footprint—are being retroactively folded into the development.

During a visit to the db Group’s controversial Hard Rock hotel which forms part of the same project as the new lido on Monday Prime Minister Robert Abela spoke highly of the project, describing it as one which “continues to strengthen Malta’s position as a high-quality tourism destination.” According to a statement by the OPM, the hotel is being built with sustainability in mind, as it will be a primary Hard Rock hotel in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The hotel is slated to open its doors to guests this summer.