Work early on Sunday morning at the site of the former Fortina Hotel in Sliema resulted in a barrage of complaints to the police, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The Planning Authority said permits for works on a Sunday are not issued by the Planning Authority but by the building regulations office.

Residents said the work started at 8am. One of them lamented that the locality had already been turned into a building site and the least residents could expect was some respite on a Sunday morning.

Yesterday, no work was in progress when a Times of Malta photographer visited the area soon after noon.

Work carried out during the demolition of the hotel sparked an investigation into possible breaches of construction practices, with debris reportedly being dumped from a height of eight stories. The demolition work had also angered residents whose cars and property were covered in dust.

Several other residents had complained to the Times of Malta that work was “shoddy” and that they could barely open a window because of the dust, especially on windy days.

The contractor engaged to demolish the Fortina Hotel later hired Civil Protection Department fire engines to control the debris and dust.

Demolition of the four-star hotel finished recently. It will be replaced by a five-star resort and a 15-storey block of 109 apartments as well as a ground-floor shopping mall and three levels of underground parking. The plans also propose to raise the height of the existing hotel tower to 23 storeys and build a new 13-floor hotel block in place of the spa wing.

About 2,500 square metres of open public space will be created at the back of the residential block and maintained by the hotel.