The Ghadira Bay Danish Village, or rather the Mellieha Holiday Centre, is to get an additional 30 units after an application, which had been in the processing 10 years, was yesterday approved by the Mepa board.

The Danish Village was built in the 1960s by an award-winning Danish architect but is so unobtrusive and contoured to the landscape that many people do not even know about it and pass by without seeing it.

It is not clear what caused the long delay but architect Edwin Mintoff said there was an objection by a third party. It would also seem that the appeal brought to the fore some faults in the Mepa processing.

The new units will be built exactly as the units already in place with the addition of a small pool in some bungalows. Vernacular architecture and Maltese stone will be used throughout. As with the rest of the site, landscaping will hide the new buildings from the road. Twentyfive units will be built in the south and five in the north side, that adjoining the Nature Reserve.

The Mayor of Mellieha, John Buttigieg, said the local council supports the application adding three conditions which had already been included in the application.

At the end, a board member suggested raising the planning gain from €13,000 to €25,000 but the Danish owner said the increase in accommodation  will only add 60 guests; last year the Village had a €650,000 loss and it employs 100 persons. The planning gain was thus raised only to €15,000.