A First Hall judgement that ruled out the possibility of Palazzo Pescatore in St Paul’s Bay being turned into a disco, with music allowed until 4am, was upheld in an Appeals Court ruling handed down on Friday.

On behalf of Benny’s Catering Ltd, Ben Muscat had claimed that his licence to play music until 1am had been “arbitrarily” curtailed by the Commissioner of Police to up to 11pm, that he was, moreover, licensed to sell wine and beer and non-intoxicants until 4am, that the building was sound-proofed and that he had the consent of his neighbours.

But the Commissioner of Police replied that for him to allow extended times, there had to be a Mepa decision on a change of use from a bar and restaurant to a disco. It was also pointed out that there was no evidence to prove that the outlet had ever been licensed until 1am, and that there were many letters by neighbours, both in the papers and to Mepa, against the disco option. These protests had been made in the context of reports that a Joe Camilleri had acquired the building and intended to open a Rave Club there.

The Appeals Court also drew attention to the fact that during the appeal stage, it was pointed out that while all permits relating to Palazzo Pescatore are in the name of Ben Muscat, the court case had been brought by a company that does not have one licence in its name.

The Appeals Court was composed of Chief Justice Vincent de Gaetano, Judge Albert Magri and Judge Tonio Mallia.