Altered Plans For Comino Hotel And Bungalows Approved By ERA, Final Decision Awaited By PA
The Environemnt and Resources Authority’s Board has approved the final assessment on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Appropriate Assessment (AA) for the redevelopment of the hotel and bungalows at San Niklaw Bay and Santa Marija Bay in Comino.
The decision comes after the applicants made several modifications to their plans as requested by the ERA.
It includes a reduction of the originally proposed footprint and containment of the development within the existing.
ERA’s final assessment will now be handed over to the Planning Authority (PA) who will assess the proposal further.
The final decision on the respective application for development permission now lays in the PA’s hands.
The final assessment was approved during an ERA Board meeting on 15th July, following a thorough analysis, discussions, and the implementation of requested changes to the original documents pertaining to this development application.
Following discussions with ERA, the developers made amendments to their plans, including reducing the proposed project’s footprint by 5,000m2 – almost the size of a football pitch.
In fact, the most significant change from the existing scenario, especially at the hotel site at San Niklaw, is the restoration of land closer to the coast by shifting the building envelope inland, thus reducing the footprint at San Niklaw.
Amongst the additional changes requested by the Authority include the removal of one pier from the two that were initially proposed at Santa Marija, reducing the number of bungalows to 19; removing an outhouse pavilion and concierge pavilion and the rearrangement of associated footpaths. The back-of-house areas have been regrouped almost entirely over existing tennis courts.
Back in 2021, ERA had requested an EIA in line with the EIA Regulations and an AA in accordance with the Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Regulations, in view of its location within Natura 2000 sites.
The Authority received the EIA and AA Reports on 20th September 2021, both of which were published for a 30-day public consultation.
Thus, ERA’s assessment considers the conclusions of the EIA and AA Reports, as well as the comments, received from the public concerned following consultation.
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