The sanctioning of 35 illegally built rooms at an Qawra hotel was approved by the planning authority board yesterday.

The building of eight new rooms at San Antonio Hotel was also cleared.

The proposal was considered to be acceptable because the “overall design of the hotel building, which includes the additional rooms and those to be sanctioned”, are in line with the recently approved height limitation adjustment policy for hotels.

The hotel has its main entrance on Triq it-Turisti, a side elevation on Triq id-Dolmen, and also faces Il-Wesgħa Kennija. The site has a roughly triangular configuration, with a footprint of about 9,600 square metres.

The permit also includes the sanctioning of the redesign and reconfiguration of a number of terraces and balconies and the pool area from the second storey up to the eighth.

Rooms on the third floor to the eighth, facing Wesgħa Kennija, will also be sanctioned.

The case officer pointed out that, assessing the proposed development within the framework of the new hotel limitation policy, which allowed extra floors on hotels, and following discussions with the planning directorate, there was no “particular objection” from a visual or planning point of view.