With British newspaper The Telegraph this week dedicating time to carefully prepare a list of ‘the 14 most fascinating abandoned hotels’, listing the Jerma Palace Hotel at No. 9, the Planning Authority has finally woken up and slapped an enforcement notice on the derelict monstrosity. It is believed that the demolition process has finally begun.

A press release issued yesterday morning stated that “The Planning Authority has issued enforcement notices on the sites of the former Mistra Village Holiday Complex in Xemxija and the former Jerma Palace Hotel in Marsascala.

“The Authority has noted that these two large sites, in prominent locations, have both been left abandoned and in disarray for years resulting in becoming an injury to amenity. The Authority, through the enforcement notice, has requested the land owners to address the injury to amenity that is resulting from the abandoned state of the structures on site.”

The infamous hotel closed down in March 2007, following 25 years in the hotel industry. It was the only large, luxury hotel in the South of Malta – but is now a dumping site. Over the years, graffiti and street art has given the stripped-down site some form of life.

The hotel opened in 1982 and, according to The Telegraph, “transformed Marsascala from a small fishing village into a popular resort town.” The hotel became more famous due to former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who often stayed at the hotel and even had a presidential suite.

In comments to other sections of the media, Planning Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri said that the dilapidated site has been an issue for far too long.

Marsascala local councillors raised a red flag and urged the PA to address the issue last month, citing concerns that when tourists come to the area to visit the nearby beach, they are shocked with the deplorable safety-risk that the site has become.

In view of intense government efforts to increase tourism levels and maintain the island’s economic backbone, it is no surprise that the overdue issue is finally being addressed.