PA sanctions Sharlon Pace’s illegal padel courts with €25,000 penalty

In a decision widely anticipated, the Planning Authority has approved the sanctioning of the illegal padel court complex developed by Gżira FC president Sharlon Pace on Manoel Island.

Although Planning Authority officials, headed by Jonathan Orlando, had recommended that the illegal development be regularised against a sanctioning fine of just €900, Planning Board chairman Emanuel Camilleri described the proposed penalty as “ridiculous” and successfully proposed that the developer instead be required to pay a total planning gain of €25,000, inclusive of the sanctioning fine.

Surprisingly, the applicant, represented by lawyer and former PA Ceo Ian Stafrace, did not object.

The amended proposal was approved by the government-appointed Planning Board by 11 votes to one, with board member Romano Cassar voting against.

The Board’s decision regularises the development after the padel courts had already been constructed and brought into operation illegally without the required planning permit.

The outcome is likely to reinforce longstanding criticism that the Planning Authority has become a permitting board rather than a planning regulator, with retrospective sanctioning becoming the norm and illegal developments frequently being approved after illegally constructed.

The sanctioning application had become the subject of a series of investigations by The Shift, which revealed that the commercial padel complex had been built illegally on public land at the former Nicholl Ground and that Pace had only sought planning approval after the works had been completed.

The Shift also revealed that Pace had declared to the Planning Authority that he had been authorised by the landowner to carry out the development, despite refusing to identify who had granted that authorisation when questioned.

The application had initially been scheduled for a decision before the general election, but was postponed after Pace requested a deferral. It was eventually approved following Labour’s return to government.

While the Board substantially increased the financial penalty from the €900 originally proposed by planning officials, its decision to regularise the development is nevertheless expected to fuel criticism that unauthorised developments can still be built first and approved later.

The padel courts are operated as a commercial venture on Manoel Island, which the government has pledged to transform into a national park following its agreement to regain control of the island from MIDI.