A motion urging the government to buy the derelict Jerma Palace Hotel site and turn it into a public open space is to be debated by the Consultative Council for the South, despite it having been rejected by Marsascala council.
The site is due to be sold by auction next month.
Spearheaded by Nationalist Party councillor Charlot Cassar, the motion was presented to Marsascala council last month but was defeated with four votes to three.
Labour deputy mayor Desiree Attard said she was in favour but could not be present to vote. Mr Cassar could therefore only count on the support of the two other PN councillors.
Mr Cassar then decided to seek the support of the Consultative Council for the South, chaired by Labour MP Silvio Parnis. Mr Cassar is the Opposition’s representative on this council.
“After floating the idea during the last meeting, the Council for the South was much more receptive to the idea, to the point that it agreed to debate this motion in the forthcoming meeting set for next week,” Mr Cassar said yesterday.
The local council voted 4-3 against the motion
The motion originated days after the Planning Authority gave hotel owners JPM Brothers 16 days to address what it described as the “injury to amenity” resulting from the derelict building. A similar notice was also issued on the site of the Mistra Village Complex, in Xemxija, which is also the property of JPM Brothers.
The move was welcomed both by residents and environmental groups. Subsequently, the Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Deborah Schembri confirmed that the owners of the Jerma Palace Hotel had been ordered to demolish the building.
They challenged the enforcement notices and filed an appeal that is due to be heard by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. Consequently, for the time being, the PA cannot step up its action.
Following its closure in 2007, the Jerma Palace Hotel was stripped of all its amenities and it has become a dangerous structure.
Despite the interest shown by a number of investors to resurrect the site, either for real estate purposes or a hotel, the proposed projects never materialised.