Proposal to relocate Munchies next to existing kiosk

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) has reactivated an application by Charles Micallef dating back to 2007 to re-locate the illegal Munchies kiosk in the middle of Golden Bay beach to an area immediately next to an existing legal kiosk near the stairs leading to the beach.

The new development will be carried out over two levels. Most of the development is set to take place under the car park. But a smaller component will be visible above road level.

Photomontages of the project presented by the applicant show an intensification of development on the hotel side of the beach.

The application to re-locate the illegal development was reactivated last month.

In 2005 MEPA had approved an outline permit for the relocation of the illegal Munchies kiosk to an area located entirely under the present car park. 

But in 2007 the developer applied for a development which included an area above road level.

In May 2008 MEPA’s advisory committee on Natural Heritage called on MEPA to stop processing this application because it was in breach of the outline permit as part of the construction was above road level.

It was also this year that the MEPA issued enforcement notices against highly visible development in the middle of popular Golden Bay. No previous attempt was made to sanction development on this site.

The enforcement order refers to “the construction and repeated extensions” of the Munchies kiosk which covers 465 square metres of a Grade 1 scheduled site. The owner has appealed against the enforcement order, gaining valuable time as MEPA cannot remove the structure until a decision is handed down by the appeals tribunal.