The Panorama Hotel, in Mellieħa could rise by an additional three floors if a development application submitted last summer gets the approval of the Planning Authority.
Christabelle Borg, a 2018 Eurovision Song Contest participant, is listed as the applicant, on behalf of V&C Developments whose director, Vincent Borg, is her father.
Located on the top of a ridge, the five-storey hotel, built in 1966, commands breathtaking views of Għadira Bay and lies within a residential area close to the parish church.
Under a 2014 policy review, hotels are allowed to build two extra storeys and can go up even higher in certain circumstances.
The development application was submitted in August and the initial proposal was to build two additional storeys but, subsequently, fresh plans were filed comprising two floors and a penthouse level.
Read: Eight-storey complex proposed at Mellieħa 'community centre'
Attempts to extend hotel go back to 2008
If approved, the hotel would significantly alter the existing Mellieħa village skyline as seen from Għadira Bay. The developer justifies the proposal on grounds that the surrounding buildings could potentially rise to five floors. In that case, the disparity in height would become less pronounced, to the order of the three additional floors being proposed, the developer argues.
Attempts to extend the Panorama Hotel go back at least to 2008 when an application had been filed, not by the existing developer, to demolish existing structures on the roof and build a receded floor. Though the proposal was initially shot down, in 2010, the decision was overturned.
The U-turn was justified on the grounds that the recessed floor was not considered as an additional storey. Moreover, the permit was given on condition that if the hotel would cease operations, the recessed floor would have to be removed.
For some reason, the project did not materialise and, three years ago, the developer successfully renewed the permit. Yet, the proposal has now been shelved, in favour of adding two additional floors and a penthouse.