I read that the Maltese Government is considering allowing owners of four and five star hotels to raise heights without a set limit. This is a grave mistake.

Malta was my home in my early teenage years and, like many of us Brits, I fell in love with the island. I have never been lucky enough to return but, had I been, I would not have stayed in a high-rise, multi-storey hotel. Malta is a global treasure and even though I have no problem with progress I am passionate that it should not be at the expense of the past.

Tourists come to Malta for what is characteristic of these islands, not just the sea and sand but the beautiful old architecture and landscapes. If we wanted an urban jungle of tall buildings and modern architecture, we would go somewhere else.

Tall buildings may suit a handful of hoteliers now but when their skyscrapers start throwing the beaches and streets of your tourist towns into deep shade, every hotel will suffer because tourists will seek other resorts where the beaches enjoy the sun all day long. This shading will be worst from October to April, which is when tourists are most needed in Malta. Instead of focusing on bringing tourists in the low season, as Malta used to do in the past, it now wants to build more bedrooms that will be vacant in winter leading to a price war as hotels undercut each other just to cover costs.

Malta has already suffered as it’s not what it used to be due to over-development. All you need is a few more cranes, traffic jams, more noise and dirt to really send the tourists to other destinations!