HV Hospitality said Tuesday it acknowledged today's decision by the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal to suspend a permit which approved the removal of trees and shrubs pending the outcome of the appeal.

This permit, which was approved by the Environment and Resources Authority on August 7, covers the environmental programme, including the removal and transplantation of trees and shrubs and the demolition and construction methods in preparation for the Six Senses Comino project. 

The company did not object to the suspension request, having already stated that the only activity requiring a specific timeframe is the transplanting of trees and shrubs, which must take place in winter to maximise survival - a period that falls after this appeal is expected to conclude. No other works are planned before then.

The Six Senses Comino project, the company said, has been designed as a reduction, not an expansion: the finished hotel and bungalow footprint will be 8,244 square metres smaller than the hotel and bungalows it replaces, in line with the local plan's own policy of rehabilitating existing tourism facilities rather than building anew.

It has been conceived as a new benchmark for sustainable luxury in Malta and the Mediterranean, in partnership with Six Senses, an exclusive luxury hospitality brand that blends sustainable, eco-friendly design with holistic wellness and a deep connection to the natural environment, the company said.