The Eden Leisure Group has filed a Planning Authority application to sanction illegal structures added onto the Paranga restaurant rooftop, overlooking St George’s Bay in St. Julian’s.

The restaurant’s owners, who were already the subject of wide public backlash after construction works commenced in 2018 without a valid permit, are now seeking to legalise the roofing through the sanctioning process.

While described as “lightweight” and “demountable”, the structure roofs over the existing restaurant, creating an enclosed area for further seating and essentially constructing an entire additional storey.

The application (PA/5345/23) filed by Eden Leisure Group co-owner Kevin De Cesare proposes that part of the rooftop structure, not approved in an earlier permit but nevertheless constructed, is to be sanctioned.

A section of the restaurant showing the illegally constructed upper level of the rooftop enclosure seeking to be sanctioned (in blue). Photo: Planning Authority

In May 2018, work on the Paranga restaurant rooftop enclosure started, causing wide public outcry given the Planning Authority application for the structure was still being reviewed. Construction continued the following month despite visits by Planning Authority enforcement officers halting the works.

That application requesting the sanctioning of structures already built was denied in July 2019, with the case officer report noting its “unacceptable visual impact on the views from the public road and promenade towards the sea” and incompatibility with local plans.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) overturned the decision for refusal in June 2021 following an appeal by The Eden Leisure Group with architect Robert Musumeci, who submitted plans for a smaller version of the structure to be built.

The Eden Leisure Group nevertheless constructed a rooftop structure larger than the one approved by the EPRT and is now seeking its sanctioning through the newer, separate planning application.

The Planning Authority did not issue an enforcement notice for any of the illegal, unpermitted structures.

Last April, The Shift reported on the Planning Authority’s lax enforcement. In Sliema and St Julian’s, there are at least 17 pending enforcement notices against kiosks and restaurants that continue to illegally occupy public space for their commercial gain, often through ‘demountable’ structures similar to the ones at the Paranga restaurant.

Eden’s De Cesare was also granted a permit to build two additional floors on a new hotel in the centre of Paceville despite a breach of planning policy.

The 13-storey hotel will replace the Eden Leisure group’s bowling alley and adjacent cinemas, including 338 beds and some 10,000 square metres of office and retail space.

Questions sent to the Eden Leisure Group remain unanswered at the time of publication.