Gzira lido deckchairs: PA’s legal office insists on Land Authority clearance

The Planning Authority’s legal office is insisting that a hotel consortium operating a lido on reclaimed land in Gżira must present a clearance letter from the Lands Authority.

The clearance is required before the Planning Commission agrees to regularise a rooftop sunbed area erected without a permit two years ago. The sunbed area is in apparent breach of a public deed prohibiting rooftop structures on the property.

The Planning Commission had requested a clearance letter from the Lands Authority during a meeting in December but was later faced with a legal letter in which the consortium’s lawyer insisted that no such clearance was required. Subsequently, the commission sought advice from the PA’s own legal office before proceeding with the case.

The PA’s legal office pointed out that a PA circular issued in 2016 makes it clear that a clearance letter from the Government Property Division is a requirement for any proposal on government property.

“No mention of an exception is made for when the property is held under a temporary emphyteusis, as the owner would still be the government,” the authority’s legal office insisted.

While noting that the Development Planning Act states that the leaseholder is effectively considered an owner, the Planning circular still requires clearance from the Government Property Division for any application on public land.

The site of the application consists of a 2,500sq.m lido on land reclaimed from the sea, leased to a consortium made up of the Bayview, Kennedy Nova, 115 The Strand, and Waterfront hotels.

The land was transferred to the consortium for 65 years, with an obligation to pay a ground rent of €50,000 during the first three years and €150,000 for the next nine years. The rent is to be revised after the expiry of this 12-year period. However, a clause in the public deed states that “no roof structures and services shall be permitted to be placed on the roof.” The original permit for the development issued by the PA also includes a condition that the lido’s roof must remain unencumbered by new structures in line with this contractual obligation.

In 2023, Michael Stivala on behalf of the consortium had applied to regularise the sunbeds and railings, which were installed without a planning permit. The Planning Authority’s case officer has already recommended approval, on the condition that all outdoor furniture remains free from advertisements and that sun umbrellas “are kept closed when not in use.” The case officer cited “the new operational needs of the four hotels” and the “holistic design and visual permeability” of the proposal as justification for regularisation.

However, the Planning Commission has refused to issue the permit in the absence of a clearance letter from the Lands Authority.

Sliema Creek Limited, the consortium comprising the four hotels that jointly own the lido, presented a legal opinion by lawyer Chris Cilia. The opinion contends that the placement of sunbeds on the roof does not breach the deed because “sunbeds and umbrellas are temporary by their very nature and cannot be considered as structures…”.

Moreover, Cilia argued that, as temporary leaseholders, the owners of the lido are not “required to obtain any clearance from the Lands Authority for any development which it may wish to make on the site.”

Stivala’s justification report, authored by architect Edwin Mintoff, claims the rooftop decking optimises land utilisation. “The hotels in the area are investing millions in reinvestment and upgrading” and “are utilising the limited land in question to its full potential to avoid the need to develop a new facility.”