Qawra hotel’s underground tunnel and beach lido application approved
Hotelier Silvio Debono’s application to excavate an underground tunnel (which would also be for public use) and demolish an existing kiosk to make way for the construction of a beach lido linked to the San Antonio Hotel in Qawra was approved by the Planning Authority yesterday.
The development will see the introduction of a lift lobby and two lifts at the edge of the San Antonio pool deck area. The lifts will lead to the tunnel beneath Triq it-Trunċiera, which effectively leads to the proposed beach lido.
The tunnel beneath Triq itTrunċiera will lead the general public and hotel guests to either the public beach or the indoor lido bar. The public beach is also accessible from the lido. A small kitchen, bar, dry store and tables and chairs are being proposed to serve the lido customers. The existing sanitary facilities will be replaced by new ones, accessible from the public beach. The tunnel would also serve the public through an entrance on Triq Dolmen. The lido will replace the existing kiosk. It will not, however, affect a third-party kiosk nearby.
Representatives of the hotel, presenting their application to the Planning Authority Board, said that they wanted to do something to address the issue of guests having to cross the busy road to get to the beach. Management, the representatives said, wanted to create a connection between the hotel and the beach.
“The San Antonio Hotel currently holds a concession on part of the beach, and there is an existing agreement with the Malta Tourism Authority that the latter shall manage and maintain the existing beach amenities including the kiosk and bathrooms.” The amenities, according to the representative, provide services to both hotel guests and the general public.
The proposed development will not protrude onto the beach area, as the proposal will be situated on the existing concreted area. The foreshore would grow by roughly four metres as a result, the representative said, given that the lido will be further inland than the current kiosk.
A number of meetings had been held with the St Paul’s Bay Local Council, and a project proposal had been submitted by the project architect, the representative stated.
“Subsequently, the proposal was revised and plans updated. The local council had proposed that the tunnel also be used by the public to access the bay to the pool, and thus access be shared with the public in general, as a form of underpass.” This, a San Antonio representative said, had been taken on board. He indicated that an entry point on Triq Dolmen had been added to the plans.
“A total concession of 316 square metres will be for public access,” the representative said, highlighting the use of the bathrooms and tunnel, among other amenities. “Thus, the project involves a large element of public use.”
Turning to traffic during development, the representative said the main road would never close, but suggested that wardens be present to handle traffic during development.
One resident objected to the proposal and said that the project would encroach on public land. He asked what guarantee the public would have that the tunnel would remain accessible and that the toilet would remain accessible. “We know that when it comes to such things, there is usually zero enforcement.”
He said residents fear public beaches becoming private, “finding 200 deckchairs and that one cannot swim. What guarantees are there that this won’t happen?”
The hotel’s representative said they would have no objection to the permit being subject to conditions. “The use is determined by the permit, and the permit will read that it will be open to the public.”
“Aside from permission, there is also the MTA agreement, which states the bay must remain accessible, and we won’t object to this being extended.”
Planning Board chairman Vince Cassar said that the permit should state that tables and chairs would definitely not be allowed on the promenade, which will be extended as a result of the lido roof being attached to it.