Din l-Art Helwa objects to Ramla Bay hotel extension

Din l-Art Helwa is objecting to an application proposing to double the number of hotel apartments from 45 to 100.

The environmental NGO expressed its concern on the visual impact of the heart shaped hotel extension, noting that while the existing apartments are low lying and thus create a “gentle gradient” between the coast line and the main hotel, the proposed development of a seven -floor block includes no terracing effect to minimise the visual impact, the NGO notes.

“Any hotel extension should blend with the landscape, especially in a stretch of unspoilt coastline which is highly visible on trips from Comino and Gozo,” the NGO said in submissions sent to MEPA.

Similar concerns on the visual and ecological impact of a major extension of the Ramla Bay Hotel in Marfa have been expressed in a screening report by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

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 vehicles. 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 the 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 minimised 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.” 

While reiterating concerns on the visual and ecological impact of the project the EPD concluded that the proposal does not require the submission of an Environment Impact Assessment.