A proposal to construct a restaurant at Fort St Angelo was thrown out by the planning authority yesterday because the new structure would have marred the setting of the historic fort.

The restaurant would have had an “adverse visual impact”, the planning directorate told the Mepa board in recommending refusal of the application.

The fort is one of the oldest on the island – the oldest parts date back to the Arab period – and was a turning point in the 1565 Great Siege against the Turks after the Knights managed to sink nine of their largest galleons.

Back in 2005, the Cottonera Waterfront Regeneration Project, a private consortium, had filed an application to build a restaurant in the De Guiral Battery, which is situated below the Vittoriosa fort at sea level.

It proposed converting around 500 square metres of open space into an open air restaurant and cover it over with a deck structure.

Joe Cassar, representing the consortium, asked the planning authority board to shelve the decision so that plans for the restaurant would be included in a master plan being drawn up by the Malta Tourism Authority.

He also contested the planning directorate’s recommendation for refusal, pointing out that the consortium had followed all the conditions imposed in a previous outline development permit.

“We are paying around €139,534 in rent every year and we need to put the land to use to subsidise the rent,” Mr Cassar said.

Several heritage organisations had voiced disagreement with the project, saying that it would have a major visual impact and close off pedestrian access to the bottom part of the fort.

Also, the canopy, furniture and people would be very visible from long distances, they pointed out.

Planning authority chairman Austin Walker refused to postpone the decision because the application was already before the board. Its rejection was unanimous.

Three years ago, the Cottonera consortium was given the authority’s go-ahead to build a thalasso health therapy farm which was to include 40 bedroom suites, health, fitness and sauna facilities, a reception area, a main restaurant, a lobby bar, a health food restaurant and related services and facilities.

But the project was put on hold because access to the fort was barred last summer after dangerous cracks appeared in the stonework. Heritage Malta, which is responsible for the fort, was recently given a permit to start emergency restoration works on the gate.

Following various appeals from heritage organisations, the government has now also pledged another €22 million for the fort’s restoration in this year’s budget.