Piecemeal hotel expansion in Xlendi valley seeks nine more rooms

A boutique hotel in Munxar could be expanded by a further nine rooms under a new planning application, continuing a series of developments on a sensitive Outside Development Zone (ODZ) site overlooking Wied ix-Xlendi/Wied il-Lunzjata.

The application, submitted by Caillin Borg, proposes increasing the existing approved 18-room hotel to 27 rooms. It also includes an indoor pool at basement level and three additional rooms at each of semi-basement, ground and upper-ground-floor levels.

The property along Triq ix-Xlendi is located on steep valley slopes within an Area of High Landscape Value, Area of Ecological Importance, Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation and Site of Scientific Importance.

The site's planning history stretches back decades. The two-storey residential building predates 1968, while permits issued between 1993 and 2004 allowed a coffee shop, terrace, swimming pool and other additions, including the conversion of a bar into a bedroom.

A major change came in 2015 through PA/03248/15, which sought to change the property's use from residential to a Class 3A boutique hotel. The approved scheme provided for 13 rooms, a pool, breakfast area, reception, lounge and other facilities.

The proposal had raised environmental concerns. The Environment Protection Directorate, which preceded ERA, warned of further intensification beyond the existing built-up area, including excavation into the steep valley sides, visual intrusion and permanent impacts from rock cutting and site clearance.

The Natural Heritage Advisory Committee also described the proposal as highly objectionable from a natural heritage perspective because of the extensive additions to the existing building and its location within the protected valley.

The scheme was subsequently scaled down, including the removal of one basement level, before being approved. A 2017 permit later increased the approved accommodation to 18 rooms.

The latest application would therefore mark a further step in the site's transformation from a pre-1968 residence into a 27-room hotel within a protected rural landscape.