Decision on illegal Manoel Island padel courts postponed for after the elections

A controversial planning hearing, which was set to determine whether the Planning Authority (PA) approves the sanctioning of the illegal padel complex built in Manoel Island was postponed until after the elections, after the developer behind the plans, Gżira FC President Sharlon Pace, claimed his lawyer was unable to attend the hearing.

The postponement was highly predictable as the government wants to avoid controversies and risk losing votes at a crucial time with the electorate.

The football club’s refusal to publicly explain why works were carried out without any relevant development permits, despite the government’s known plans to turn the site into a national park, raises further concerns about why there was no enforcement against the illegally built site.

Following the partial termination of the concession agreement through which MIDI plc previously owned Manoel Island, questions remain about how Gżira FC, which built the padel complex on land which was supposed to be a football pitch for the benefit of the local community, claims that their proposed development was “authorised” by the site owner.

Months before Gżira FC began illegally building the padel complex in March, the club’s president, Sharlon Pace, quietly filed a planning application to build the padel pitches, an application which was later modified to seek sanctioning when works began ahead of the permit’s publication.

In that application (PA/7995/25), which was supposed to be decided upon by the PA on Thursday, Pace submitted what is known as a public application form, which is a standard document that must be filled in by every applicant.

The document was submitted to the PA on 17 November, 2025 – before the government bought back the concession from MIDI at a cost of €47 million. Since the deal between MIDI and the government was signed, MIDI plc itself is now expected to wind down its operations as early as next year.

A section in that document refers to formal declarations which must be made to the authority. In that section, Pace had claimed that the football club does not own the site but was authorised to carry out the proposed development through an agreement with the owner of the site.

Prior Thursday’s hearing, Pace was asked to specify who granted Gżira FC authorisation to carry out the proposed development.

Pace did not respond to The Shift’s questions.

Further questions about providing documentation proving such authorisation was granted went similarly unanswered.

Under a heading which outlines penalties for offences related to the Development Planning Act, Maltese law states that any individual who makes “a declaration which is false, misleading, or incorrect in any respect” to public officials is liable to a fine of anywhere between €1,500 – €100,000 and possible imprisonment of up to a maximum of three years if the offence is sustained over the course of three months.

After a PA case officer had recommended approval against payment of a miserly €900 fine, the regularisation of this illegal development is likely going to be approved in a PA hearing which will now be held after the general elections. The timing is convenient for the Labour administration which has so far ignored the illegalities on the site in question and permitted them to go ahead illegally.