A hotel that was to be built on the perimeter of Gozo’s Fort Chambray, protruding over Mġarr Harbour, will be relocated under a revised master plan praised for permitting greater appreciation of the historic fort.

The plan, for two phases of the Fort Chambray project, was approved by Mepa yesterday.

The hotel forms part of a commercial area that will now be moved to the centre of the fort next to the Knights’ Barracks.

The British Barrack Block, which was to be annexed to the hotel, will be dismantled and its façade reconstructed as part of the relocaion.

These modifications were endorsed by the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and the Superintendent of Fortifications, who noted these plans were a marked improvement and would allow for a greater appreciation of the fort.

The arcades on the facade of the British Barrack Block will be reconstructed adjacent to the Knights Block, which itself has arcades that had been added to it by the British.

This redesign will also permit the arcades to be better appreciated due to their continuation from one building to the next.

The new layout will incorporate a central piazza designed to have the polverista as its focal point.

The planning authority board praised the applicants for what it said was the sterling work they put into the redesign to achieve a higher quality and a more sensitive development, even though they already had a valid planning permit.

The board also noted that the applicant would carry on with extensive works to restore the fort.

Meanwhile, in a separate application, the board approved a village for the elderly to be built by developer Anglu Xuereb, on a site outside the development zone on the outskirts of Naxxar.

The site, in an area known as Ta’ Simblija, used to have a pre-cast concrete manufacturing plant.

The project includes the development of a main nursing home, semi-independent and fully independent units, a health spa, indoor and outdoor pools, hobby centre, open-air amphitheatre, small shops, salon, restaurant and a chapel.