No environment impact assessment for Ramla Bay Hotel extension

While expressing concern on the visual and ecological impact of a major extension of the Ramla Bay Hotel in Marfa, a screening report by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority exempts the project from the need of an Environment Impact Assessment.

The application seeks permission for the demolition of the existing 45 apartments which are presently interspersed in nine, separate one- to two-storey buildings and the construction of 100 apartments built over a seven-floor extension to the hotel which has the same height.

It also proposes, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, catering outlets and an underground car park for 68 cars. The proposal will result in an increase of 240 beds in the resort. 

The project does not involve the take up of any virgin ODZ land but increases the massing of the development. MEPA had already approved a 102-room extension in 2009. 

The screening report prepared by the Environment Protection Directorate notes that the project seeks to increase the overall massing of the existing hotel. Referring to the photomontages presented by architect Ray Demicoli the report notes that the project will result in “significant effects of the proposed project on the larger cultural and natural landscape and visual setting of the area”. 

The massing of the existing hotel in an otherwise open countryside context is not to be “encouraged from an environmental point of view.” 

The report also notes that the impacts on the adjacent Natura 2000 site remain unclear. The site lies on the coast close to a marine Natura 2000 site. The area includes Posidonia oceanica meadows, a habitat protected by EU legislation. The report notes that this important habitat could be impacted by the proposed development, especially during demolition and excavation works, as a result of dust and debris generated which may find its way into the marine environment. 

“The site characteristics are such that while the impacts along the Northern coast are expected to be minimized by currents, any dust plumes that enter the bay will remain there for a considerable amount of time, increasing water turbidity, and possibly smothering the Posidonia oceanica”.

The report warns that compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Management Construction Site Regulations is only  “considered the bare minimum in seeking to prevent overspills from the site onto the surrounding environment.”

It is also unclear whether the proposed works will result in significant impacts on cultural heritage. This is because the works encroach onto the buffer for the Grade 2 scheduled World War II beach defence light and beach post. The effects of visual impact on the cultural heritage should be assessed further according to the report. 

This report also warns that the increase in the number of residents may result in increased pressures on the environment. 

While reiterating concerns on the visual and ecological impact of the project the EPD concludes that such concerns are best addressed directly through continued EPD processing of the case, and the mainstream development consent mechanism and should mitigated by means of conditions and specifications  in the development permit. In this regard, the proposal does not require the submission of an EIA. 

The EPD is currently led by MEPA chairman Vince Cassar, who has assumed the role of acting director of the directorate for the past 2 years. The government has refused to appoint a new director in view of the imminent creation of a separate environmental authority.