San Giljan water polo pitch project gets environment authority green light

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has cleared a land reclamation project linked to the redevelopment of the San Giljan Aquatic Sports Club.

The project will include a restaurant with outdoor seating, a lido for sunbeds, a swimming pool and additional club facilities.

A previous application was withdrawn after ERA objected to the obliteration of seagrass known as Posidonia Oceanica and the significant visual intrusion on the bay.

But clearance was granted after a new application was presented, reducing the land reclamation footprint. This revision reduced the loss of posidonia meadows by 80%.

The land reclamation project will still involve the take-up of 2,230m² of newly reclaimed land to accommodate the new commercial lido, including 197m² of protected Posidonia meadows. Moreover, construction works will still take place adjacent to the protected habitats.

The new bullnose breakwater will also be built on piles rather than caissons, meaning the seagrass beneath will not be completely buried, although remaining patches will still suffer from shading and scouring.

An updated Environmental Impact Assessment written by  AIS Environment Ltd , concluded that these changes downgraded the ecological impact from “major significant” to “minor-to-moderate significant”.

However, the impact on views of Balluta Bay remains significant.

During a meeting in July, ERA board members were told that while the changes represented a considerable improvement, residual impacts on posidonia at the margins are still expected.

NGO representative Martin Galea DeGiovanni, who along with board member Charmaine Mangion voted against the project, warned that the development remained substantial compared to the existing situation. He argued that even with the reduction in scale, the project would continue to exert pressure on the fragile seagrass habitat.

Visual impact was another major concern. Photomontages showed that the redesigned platform, with softer edges and a smaller footprint, would reduce visual prominence when viewed from Pjazza Balluta and Xatt is-Sajjieda. Here, the impact was downgraded from “major” to “moderate significant.” But from other viewpoints – including Triq George Borg Olivier, Triq Ċensu Tabone, Triq it-Torri and Ix-Xatt ta’ Spinola – the visual impact remains unchanged, still registering as moderate-to-major.

Moreover, ERA acknowledged that such effects are “unavoidable when involving land reclamation,” particularly in an urbanised setting.

Nonetheless, the directorate recommended approval, noting that ERA’s two main concerns – the scale of seagrass loss and the most significant visual impacts – had been addressed through the latest revisions.

It also stressed that permit conditions would impose mitigation measures, including strict monitoring of the marine environment during construction, containment of dredged material, use of silt curtains, spillage prevention and lighting mitigation.

The board voted in favour of approval, with only Martin Galea DeGiovanni and Charmaine Mangion opposing.

Board Chairman Perit Vincent Cassar emphasised the importance of closely monitoring the posidonia during works, with the developer required to fund an ERA-approved independent monitor.

ERA’s clearance clears a major stumbling block for the approval of the project by the Planning Authority which still has to issue its verdict.

The St Julian’s water polo club is one of Malta’s foremost clubs but lacks modern facilities. The team is the current Premier Division Winter League champion.