Moviment Graffitti slams 'embarrassing' approval of illegal Manoel Island padel courts

Moviment Graffitti condemned the Planning Authority (PA) and government for their “shameful” and “embarrassing” approval for the sanctioning of the 20 illegally built padel courts on Manoel Island.

The recommended sanctioning, coming just days after the government celebrated the return of Manoel Island to the public, now also includes an additional ten padel courts over an area of valuable archeological items.

In a statement issued on Friday, Moviment Graffitti called on Prime Minister Robert Abela and Planning Minister Clint Camilleri to rectify the damage being done to the site along with the government’s own reputation in standing by their promise to deliver a park for the people.

They noted that the recommendation came at a suspicious record timeframe, only two days after the public objection period closed with 186 objections, contradicting the government’s promised vision of Manoel Island as a national park.

The NGO explained that the padel courts are being developed by businessman Sharlon Pace, who is the president of Gżira’s football club while also admitting his “personal business interests” in the padel courts, which Moviment Graffitti insisted deviates from his responsibility towards the town’s football community.

They elaborated that Pace would be expected to pay “a measly €900” for concreting over Malta’s cultural heritage, adding that numerous archeological remains dating back to the classical period are documented from the area which has now been covered by padel courts. Movement Graffitti said that these are among the oldest pieces of evidence of human activity in the area. 

“Despite being well away of the illegal works and in complete disregard of the protocol, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage does not appear to have any concern,” they said.

Moviment Graffitti noted that Abela previously stated that the government’s vision for Manoel island is aligned with that of the Post Għalina campaign and the petition which gathered almost 30,000 signatures.

“However, the authorities’ actions seem to be humming a different tune,” Movement Graffitti said. 

While the Manoel Island: Post Għalina campaign reiterated its support for the Gżira football community to be allocated an appropriate space for its activities, it insisted that this must be done within an overarching framework for Manoel Island.

It pointed out that a for-profit padel complex is not the football ground the Gżira community has been asking for, nor is it compatible with the vision for the island.