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Adi Associates has recently finalised Malta’s new diving strategy – Developing A Sustainable Diving Industry in the Maltese Islands: A Strategy for the Future, 2022
Client: Perit Martin Farrugia
Start / Finish Dates: July - September 2013
The Riviera Resort & Spa is a four-star hotel with 242 rooms. It is located at Ir-Ramla tal-Bir, Marfa at the northernmost tip of Malta. The hotel has been extended several times in the past. It was previously known as the Solemar Hotel and was already in existence in the 1960s.
The development proposes to increase the number of hotel rooms, extend food and beverage facilities, relocate the hotel reception and un/loading bay, provide a splash pool and sun deck on the roof, pedestrianise part of the road fronting the hotel, and upgrade the adjacent car park.
A Project Description Statement was prepared that described the benefits that the Scheme will provide. The added rooms will provide additional capacity in the area, at a time when tourist arrivals to the Maltese Islands are continuously on the increase. Pedestrianisation of part of the road fronting the hotel and the relocation of the un/loading bay will improve the surrounding amenity and provide a seamless link between the foreshore and the hotel. In addition, the car park upgrade will replace a derelict area currently used as a makeshift parking area with a surfaced, organised and landscaped car park, available for use by hotel guests and the public.
The PDS also included a description of the nearby land and sea uses, scheduled sites and areas, and the relevant planning policies. A number of changes to the surrounding road configuration are proposed, including the provision of a shared space in front of the Hotel and a turning circle for coaches. Details on employment, waste management, and construction were also provided.
A preliminary list of potential environmental impacts of the Scheme was identified. It includes impacts from waste, construction, impacts on visual and landscape amenity, waste, and improved tourism product. Mitigation measures were proposed to address these impacts.
Following submission of the PDS, MEPA exempted the development from the need to undertake an EIA.
Keywords: Hotel redevelopment, Project Description Statement