I am a frequent visitor to Malta and I visited St Julian’s recently only to be shocked at the appalling building under construction between il-Qaliet and Spinola Bay. The new building stands about six floors higher than all the surrounding buildings, and it is clearly built several floors higher than that allowed by the Mepa local plans.

Before, Spinola Bay was very attractive with restaurants and apartments overlooking the quaintly coloured local boats and craft berthed in the bay, with the Portomaso tower the only tall building behind the uniform height of the townscape stretching from Spinola Road to the Cavalieri.

The new construction now seriously disturbs and completely spoils the former idyllic setting of the beautiful Spinola Bay and detracts tremendously from the delicate former balance of the Portomaso tower guarding the low lying buildings surrounding the bay.

This same huge building, several floors higher than the original Portomaso apartments, has also taken up part of the public road leading from Church Street to St George’s Road and the Cavalieri Hotel. This has left only one lane for all traffic, including delivery trucks and tourist coaches, to the Cavalieri Hotel and to the one-way Triq il-Qaliet, and residents are now complaining of frequent traffic blockages.

Mepa should surely investigate this application permit.

Peter Richards

KENT

ENGLAND