Moviment Graffitti said Thursday it is urging the public to submit objections to a proposal by prominent businessmen to take over part of the public Gżira and Sliema coastline and sea for private commercial profit.

PA/03174/26 represents yet another attempt to sacrifice the common good to the insatiable greed of a small number of powerful private interests.

Objections can be submitted to the Planning Authority (PA) until 19 June by sending an email to [email protected] and citing application number PA/03174/26. An objection template can be found on Moviment Graffitti's social media pages, Graffitti said.

The application proposes reclaiming land from the sea to build a private lido that would further obstruct views and increase congestion along one of Malta's most heavily frequented promenades. It would permanently alter the shoreline and further privatise public coastal space on an ODZ site designated as public open space under the North Harbour Local Plan.

After years of overdevelopment, Sliema and Gżira are being suffocated by commercialisation, the NGO added. Pavements have been consumed by tables and chairs, skylines obstructed by speculative construction, and public land relentlessly surrendered to private interests through planning decisions that erode the public's right to its own coast. Now, after devouring so much land, developers are coming for the sea.

The proposal also threatens protected marine habitats and would destroy the seabed through land reclamation. The Planning Authority cannot ignore its obligations under the North Harbour Local Plan, Maltese law, EU environmental law, the Public Domain Act, SPED, and international conventions protecting the coast and marine environment.
Approving this vast development would once again send the message that planning rules can be swept aside when enough money and influence are involved.

The public is entitled to ask why wealthy developers and politically connected interests continue to be prioritised over residents, swimmers, walkers, families, and the wider community who rely on this coastline as one of the few remaining open public spaces in the area, the NGO said.

Moviment Graffitti said it is demanding the full refusal of PA/03174/26 and a serious, genuine, and holistic assessment of environmental and social impacts across planning decisions to prevent the continued normalisation of destructive and predatory development.