Concern over lack of enforcement against illegal padel complex on Manoel Island

The story has been updated to include a comment by the Planning Authority sent to the newsroom post-publication.

The activists who spearheaded the campaign to turn Manoel Island into a national park expressed their concerns about a lack of action from the Planning Authority’s enforcement unit in the face of illegal development of a padel complex on the same site.

“We have as of yet not received any updates from the Planning Authority (PA) about enforcement taking place to reverse the illegal works. We are worried that the application, which is now in the representation stage, will be treated like a sanctioning application, given that a lot of the works have been completed without the necessary permits,” a spokesperson for the Manoel Island campaign told The Shift when reached for comment.

The campaign, ‘Manoel Island: Post Għalina‘, includes a number of NGOs, including Din l-Art Ħelwa, Kamra tal-Periti, Birdlife Malta, Residenti Beltin, Gzira, Kopin and Grow 10 Trees Project.

On Saturday, The Shift reported how Gżira FC was seeking to retroactively sanction the illegal construction of over a dozen padel courts, which are already being marketed as the biggest complex in Malta.

“This rogue private development would totally go against the spirit of Manoel Island as a national park for all to enjoy. It also runs counter to the government’s own plans for the island. It effectively ties the government’s hands and undermines the Prime Minister’s statement that any development needs to be considered holistically,” the spokesperson added.

The campaign’s stand is that, while it believes that sports and wellbeing are an integral part of the island’s function, any works on the site must be carried out after public consultation and after a master plan for Manoel Island is published.

The campaign’s spokesperson confirmed that the PA did not respond to a request for clarification on any action to be taken, sent over two weeks ago.

Publicly available information on the PA’s map server also shows that no recent enforcement notices have been issued on the site, despite the obvious illegalities committed there.

Almost a month ago, the PA said it was investigating the illegal works and that enforcement officials had ordered the works halted. Since then, nothing appears to have happened on the site.

The newly constructed courts are already being promoted online through IK Malta Padel, a private business in which Gżira FC’s President, Sharlon Pace, has confirmed his involvement.

Planning Authority’s updated response

It its response, the Planning Authority effectively confirmed that its Compliance & Enforcement Directorate was treating the only planning application on site as an attempt to sanction the illegal development, ruling out the prospect of any direct enforcement on the site until a decision is taken by the PA’s board.

“With reference to complaint report CM295/26 please be informed that, following investigations by our Compliance & Enforcement Directorate, it transpired that the subject of the complaint is being addressed through the submission of planning application PA/7995/25. Further investigations on the complaint report will depend on the decision to be taken on the submitted sanctioning application.”