Spinola Park is, for now,  just an almighty hole in the ground next to the St Julian's church.

Over the past months, diggers have been digging and digging both downwards to sea level and sideways to very much near the existing buildings.

Now it is going to get bigger, as a result of an application which was approved by the Mepa board last Thursday.

Architect Ray Demicoli told the board the applicant had purchased some other houses on Lapsi Street with gardens abutting the Spinola Park site. In another case, the applicant had reached an agreement with an owner to use the site underneath his present house and to build apartments for in instead.

The agreements will add some 64 car spaces to the already big car park that is being created there.

Mr Demicoli told the board one reason for this extension was due to the quality of the rock surface, which was friable at places, requiring additional care in the excavation.

Another reason for this application was that unless the extension was applied for and approved now, the underlying rock would have been sealed for ever since there would be no other way to excavate it.

The process of identifying the sites, negotiating with the owners and applying for the Mepa permit has delayed the works by eight months.