A marquee has been set up outside St George Preca College hall, in Ħamrun, where the Planning Authority is meeting to decide on controversial plans to construct a 38-storey tower and 17-storey hotel in St George’s Bay, due to huge demand for places.

Attendees are having their belongings screened by a metal detector - and even bottles of water are being opened. By 10am, when the meeting was to start, around 300 people had already turned up.

In spite of the larger venue, Moviment Graffitti said on Wednesday that the PA had informed those trying to book a place no further reservations could be accepted.

Still, Graffitti, one of several groups objecting to the project, urged all those interested to attend the meeting anyway.

“It is the right of everyone, especially registered objectors, to be present for this public meeting and object in person to this project,” the group said on Facebook. “If there is not enough space inside the hall, we'll still be able to make our stand clear from outside the premises.”

Activists from Graffitti had been physically removed from a PA hearing last week about a petrol station.

Read: Bigger hall, but not enough space for objectors at PA's db tower hearing

More than 4,000 people have submitted objections to the PA – the largest number for any planning application ever – over the db Group’s plans to develop the former Institute of Tourism Studies site. Hundreds of Pembroke residents attended protests in recent months, supported by environmental groups and surrounding local councils.

Architects' model of the project