Montebello brothers appeal Planning Authority order to dismantle derelict Jerma Palace hotel

JPM Bros. file appeal to contest Planning Authority’s enforcement order to dismantle derelict Jerma Palace hotel at Marsascala

The former Jerma Palace hotel today lies in ruins
The former Jerma Palace hotel today lies in ruins

The owners of the derelict Jerma Hotel in Marsaskala have appealed an enforcement notice by the Planning Authority to dismantle the abusive structure.

The owners had a fortnight to appeal the PA decision before the Environment and Planning Tribunal.

The Planning Authority issued enforcement notices to the owners of the former Jerma Palace and Mistra Village Complex, ordering them to clear out the abandoned hotels.

“These two large sites, in prominent locations, have both been left abandoned and in disarray for years and have become an injury to amenity,” the PA said in a statement. “Through the enforcement notice, the PA has requested the land owners to address the injury to amenity that is resulting from the abandoned state of the structures on site.”

The lands on which the former hotels in Xemxija and Marsaskala are sited are both owned by the JPM Brothers – Jeffrey and Peter Montebello.

The Planning Authority (back then MEPA) had in 2013 approved plans to develop the former Mistra village hotel in Xemxija into a high-rise luxury apartment project. However, the plans were shelved earlier this year due to a lack of funding and interest from foreign investors.

The Montebellos’ plans to redevelop the former Jerma Hotel into a complex of apartment, a five-star hotel and a yacht marina have been hampered by an accountant’s demands for €3.5 million in outstanding claims for his services to the brothers. The accountant was last year granted a precautionary warrant in court to stop the sale of the former Marsaskala hotel and the surrounding land.