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Alfresco diners at the proposed rooftop seating area atop the Baia Beach Club’s open-air swimming pool will be left without any shade as the owner had to abandon plans to erect a 7-metre-high tent structure over the dining area.
The tented structure was dropped from the plans after the Cultural Heritage Inspectorate objected to its construction near the Torri tal-Armier Redoubt, adjacent to the open-air swimming pool, arguing that it would create “visual clutter”.
But along with the changes, proposals to include a 120-square-metre uncovered rooftop seating area and an adjacent sunbed area have been approved by the Planning Authority.
SCH has yet to comment on the latest plans, which still envision installing a lift for the rooftop seating area.
The application also anticipates approval of a concrete platform for sunbeds and the installation of a wooden deck on top of it.
The application was filed by restaurateur Jonathan Mangion.
The restaurant, formerly known as Beachcomber, is located on public land and was granted a license to operate in 1977, but was not given permission to build a concrete deck to protect the restaurant from storms and place sunbeds.
Back in 1999, the Palestinian Authority rejected an application to convert a concrete platform in front of the institution into a sunbed area because it was considered to violate the policy of ensuring public access to the coastline.
But two years later, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, with the condition that the first 4.5 metres of the shoreline must not be obstructed by any buildings and that the government reserved the right to demolish the structure in a future beach restoration project.
The concrete platform slopes gradually towards the shoreline to create an area for sunbeds, which is a deviation from the plans approved in 2011 and this application seeks approval for a deviation from those plans.
The Planning Bureau will make a final decision on the case on June 16.
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