Sliema residents protest Stivala's 11-storey hotel plans

Residents and NGOs gathered on Monday to protest plans to turn a dilapidated farmhouse in Sliema into an 11-storey hotel.

The development (PA 5962/21) is being proposed by hotelier and Malta Developers Association president Michael Stivala on a site that directly abuts the gardens of the scheduled Villa Bonici and that is characterised by residential buildings.

The garden that once surrounded the century-old farmhouse had already been cleared and was illegally being used as a car park for a number of years, before being sanctioned by the Planning Authority in June.

Those who spoke at the protest stressed that the site is zoned within a residential area and that it is unjust for the PA to use its geographical proximity to tourist establishments on The Strand to justify recommending the hotel application for approval.

Residents: 'They have taken our open spaces'

Resident Adrian Gatt said that while he was charmed by Sliema when he moved here many years ago, that experienced has since soured due to constant development.

“My children have never known a time where somewhere close to us hasn’t been under construction,” he said. “They have taken our open spaces, our peace of mind and...