Height adjustment policy extended to all Gozitan hotels

The relaxation of hotel height restrictions in both Malta and Gozo is limited to development zones in areas where four-storey development is already permitted. Urban conservation areas are excluded from the scheme.

During the public consultation, the Gozo Tourism Association and the owner of Karkanja Developments Limited, Euchar Vella, made submissions advocating the inclusion of all of Gozo in the new scheme.

Joe Muscat, on behalf the GTA, complained that as originally proposed the policy only applied to 50% of Gozo's hotels.

Euchar Vella argued that the whole of Gozo should be considered under this policy because, unlike Malta, Gozo is usually promoted as a whole, due to its rural characteristics.

"This results in a number of tourists, including domestic ones, who want to stay in locations away from the tourism-oriented Marsalforn and Xlendi".

The justification MEPA offered for this change was the nature of Gozo's tourism and niche markets.

Asked by MaltaToday to explain this change, a spokesperson for Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia specified that all hotels that apply for the two extra floors will be considered case by case. Thus the same will apply for Gozo.

A MEPA spokesperson specified that in the case of Gozo the policy is "interpreted on a case-by-case basis for areas within the development zone".  This would exclude any increase in height in existing ODZ hotels like San Lawrenz and Ta Cenc.

Gozitan residents made the vast majority of submissions to MEPA during the public consultation phase, objecting to the erection of an extra two floors on the Grand Hotel at Mgarr and claiming that they would further ruin the skyline.

MEPA's reply was that it is premature to assume that the Grand Hotel will automatically benefit from a two-storey increase.

Presently there are nine hotels in Gozo: two five-stars located in Sannat and San Lawrenz, four four-stars in Marsalforn, Mgarr, Xlendi and Xaghra, and three three-stars in Xlendi and Victoria.

In January 2013 the Kamra tal-Periti, than chaired by present MEPA chairman Vince Cassar, objected to the new policy in its entirety, describing it as "discriminatory" and warning that it would have a severe impact on the urban skyline.

In its submission the KTP stated that it is difficult to see what the  proposed policy will achieve other than allowing particular hotels and companies to benefit from an ad hoc height relaxation policy, whilst failing  to safeguard the interests of the community.

The approved document states that any proposed development mass should not overly dominate the surrounding built environment, especially when a hotel lies in close proximity to sensitive sites or scheduled properties.

The new policy specifies that the increase in the height limitation cannot take place in urban conservation areas or outside development zones. The policy is limited to hotels in areas where the height limitation is at least four floors.

The policy includes safeguards to prevent a change of use after a request for two extra storeys is granted. In order to prevent such instances, anyone benefitting from the scheme will have to sign a legally binding agreement to demolish any extra floors if a change of use is granted.

AD has called the decision "a mistake." Yesterday, acting chair Carmel Cacopardo said, "It is not correct to engage in piecemeal amendments of land-use policy. It is also necessary to consider the impacts which this proposal will have on the resources consumed by the tourism industry."