BirdLife Malta and Din l-Art Helwa, the two organisations responsible for the management of Foresta 2000 Nature Reserve, have filed separate objections to the Planning Authority in relation to a planning application aiming to redevelop the site of the former Festaval Hotel in Mellieha.

The application (PA4933/22) proposes to develop a new five-floor hotel with pool, restaurants, parking and various amenities within the L-Inhawi tal-Ghadira Natura 2000 site.

In its objection filed on Friday, BirdLife Malta insisted that the site of the former hotel, even if in ruins, was scheduled by MEPA in 2006 as a Level 1 Site of Scientific Interest and a Level 2 Area of Ecological Importance, while the area is located within the confines of a Natura 2000 site and a Bird Sanctuary.

Since 2003, a large swathe of land between the Red Tower and Ghadira Nature Reserve was dedicated for the realisation of the Foresta 2000 project which has seen the recreation of a Mediterranean woodland habitat.

BLM said that, despite some setbacks with vandalism in its early years, the site has now matured into an important green open space in Mellieha which is open all year round to the general public and which BirdLife Malta jointly manages with Din l-Art Helwa and PARKS.

In its objection to the planning application, BirdLife Malta further appealed to the developers and architects behind the planning application to ensure the site is restored to its full natural potential, thus enhancing this green open space in Mellieha, in line with the site’s ecological designations.In a separate objection also filed on Friday, Din l-Art Helwa have in turn objected to the attempts to justify developing a five-storey hotel within this environmentally sensitive site on the basis of a development from the 60s, which had been abandoned ever since, particularly since the area has since been designated as a Natura 2000 site.

DLH argued that “an unfinished development, abandoned for decades, cannot serve as a form of legal commitment to justify going against the protection status and related policies that were specifically given to safeguard this site and its wider context of immense environmental value from such intensive and conflicting development.”

The problem is not just the “five-storey” volume, but the damaging impact that tourism activity will have on this Natura 2000 site, the NGO said.

Both organisations insisted that the proposed hotel development directly threatens the ecological, recreational, and educational value the site offers. In recent years BirdLife Malta has been guiding various school visits to the site offering a unique nature-based learning experience.

The pointed out that the site is also open to the public all year round 24/7 and is a mecca for hikers, tourists and Mellieha residents. This, especially during hunting seasons given the area is a Bird Sanctuary and the only site in Mellieha where hunting and trapping is not permitted.The organisations further argued that given the context of various hotel expansions in Mellieha over the past years, this development is unnecessary and possibly also not economically viable given the latest study issued by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) which is pointing to a predicted overkill in hotel beds, leading to unsustainable tourism figures beyond the country’s carrying capacity.

Other environmental organisations such as Friends of the Earth Malta (FoE Malta), The Ramblers’ Association of Malta and Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) have also submitted their objections.

Photos BirdLife Malta: Google Map showing the proposed development area; Former hotel ruins; and View of Ghadira Bay from Foresta 2000.

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