A third Planning Authority hearing on the demolition of the Jerma Palace Hotel will take place in May, after an appeal by its current owners, Jeffery and Peter Montebello, resulted in lengthy delays. PN councillor Charlot Cassar has reiterated calls for the government to purchase the land and turn it into an open space, which would benefit all.
In July 2016, the Marsascala local council passed a motion for the demolition of the site for reasons of public safety and aesthetics. This was then presented to the PA, which agreed and issued an enforcement notice for the site to be demolished in no less than 16 days. This was appealed by the Montebello brothers, with the next hearing for the appeal that took place in October 2016, around the same time a court ordered that a judicial sale was to take place.
When the enforcement notice was originally issued, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat expressed his pleasure, stating that it must be “demolished to remove ugly scars”. At the same time, Parliamentary Secretary for Lands Deborah Schembri said the issue had been left unaddressed for far too long and that it was high time action was taken.
A decision was again postponed to 7 February; however, sources say that the meeting was very short, and another hearing is set to take place in May. In the meantime, the massive eyesore, safety hazard and venue for illicit practices continue; meanwhile it is unclear whether the PA will ultimately accept the appeal or reissue the enforcement notice.
The notice demanded that owners sort out the abandoned site, which the PA said posed "an injury to amenity".
PN councillor Charlot Cassar, who has repeatedly called for the site to be purchased by the government and turned into an open space, said: "As things stand, the developers have no motivation to abide by the PA enforcement notice to demolish the Jerma ruins, as their only motivation to demolish would be to rebuild. Proposals over the years have shown that the only feasible projects that would provide sufficient financial advantage to the developers would have to be ones that are so large-scale as to be of little or no benefit to the community.
“In the meantime, we find ourselves in a stalemate position, and the only stakeholders carrying the burden of such a stalemate are the residents who continue to be exposed to the dangers posed by the ruins, the physical eyesore they have to drive past daily, and blocking their access to the shoreline. To break this stalemate and prevent the possibility of being faced with an even more massive eyesore than we currently have, my suggestion is that the government takes this one-time excellent opportunity to buy back this land.
“Such an action would bring to an end this seemingly endless saga and enable the government to take the very bold community-centred move of reversing the current trend of replacing open spaces with concrete jungles."
Mr Cassar moved a motion calling on the Marsascala Local Council to formally write to the Prime Minister and request that the government buy the site and return it to its original and natural state.
The Labour-led council shot down the proposal, insisting that Marsascala needs another hotel to attract tourists. Deputy Mayor Desiree Attard backed Mr Cassar’s motion but her opinion was practically ignored when the council came to a vote
Mr Cassar, the Opposition’s representative on the Consultative Council for the South, then moved a similar motion in that forum. His motion says that the state should not only consider acquiring the site and, should it do so, protect the land from any future development.
Unfortunately, this was met with a counter motion put forward by Malta Developer Association head Sandro Chetcuti, who called on the site to be developed into a feasible development, Mr Cassar said.
The Jerma Palace Hotel, once a thriving hub of activity, now lies in ruins. The site was purchased by brothers Peter and Jeffrey Montebello years ago but no development projects have materialized.