Villa Rosa owner Garnet Investments has shares that it is "willing to revise" the mega project with a series of commitments to address environmental and infrastructural strain concerns raised by NGOs and activists.

Garnet Investments forms part of Anton Camilleri’s business empire, A. Camilleri Group of Companies, which includes AC Group, AC Enterprises, Camcas, Caman Properties, AM Developments, ACS Developments, and Camilleri Group (no relation to the catering company known by the same name).

The Villa Rosa project has been at the centre of controversy in recent days. The project was originally set to develop two towers of 27 and 34 storeys over St George’s Bay, close to the db Group project.  The project would have seen 789 service apartments, 247 hotel rooms and a total of 16,000 square metres of office space.

“As the owners of the site, known as Villa Rosa, we fully welcome and support the public decision initiated by the Planning Authority to update the local plans for the area,” Garnet Investments said in a statement.

Additionally, it views this process as “an important step towards balancing” development plans with the needs of the community and the Government’s goals “of promoting quality tourism, expanding open spaces, and safeguarding the environment.”

Nonetheless, it commented that this marked an opportunity for the company to come up with a new proposal to the Planning Authority and deliver “an even better project.”

“One that not only offers a superior tourism product but also provides meaningful benefits to the local community. In this regard, we are willing to revise the project,” Garnet Investments said.

Its revised plans include reducing the height from the current proposed application and establish the building heights to ensure no future applications for additional floors to retain the gross floor area (GFA) within what is allowable for the Villa Rosa area under current policies.”

The company has proposed to create a new public open space, which currently does not exist and was not included in the current approved permit, as all open spaces were private.

In addition, it expressed intentions of withdrawing any development in the current approved permit to protect environmentally sensitive areas and “commit to rehabilitating and safeguarding these areas.” In consultation with environmental entities, the company will plant indigenous trees within the project.

It promised to bring luxury international hotel brands to diversify the product offering and attract high-quality tourism to the country, provide sufficient parking and introduce an internal road within its site to eliminate any loading or unloading traffic through St George’s Bay.

Finally, the company stated that it will intends on investing in the necessary infrastructure to avoid placing additional strain on the existing systems.

Project Villa Rosa: Re-visiting plans

Back in 2018, the company had obtained a planning permit to develop the Villa Rosa site and adjacent property to transform it into low-rise buildings, yet it never took off. In 2022, the company had applied for a new permit, this time including high-rise buildings.  

However, an Environmental Impact Assessment raised concerns about the environmental and air quality impacts of the proposed 34-storey tower and two 27-storey towers.

The assessment also emphasised on the fact that since the site lies adjacent to a large subterranean cavern, works through vibrations or direct piercing may result in structural damage and eventually collapse in the cave, which is a Level 1 Area of Ecological Importance.

On Sunday 13th October, a MaltaToday report revealed that Prime Minister Robert Abela had persuaded ministers in supporting a cabinet proposal to change the Villa Rosa local plan, despite objections from Ministers.

On Wednesday 16th October, the Planning Authority launched a public consultation to amend the local plan. It aims to adjust the sub-zone boundaries within the site and define permissible building height for each zone, while prioritising “environmentally sensitive areas” and “public access.”

The plan will also specify where high-quality hotels and other developments, such as residential, office, retail and catering spaces, will be permitted, and there will also be provisions for private open spaces and car parks.

The partial review of St George’s Bay local plans was expected to significantly increase the scale of the project, with reports indicating that the development could have multiplied its size and potentially reshape the area’s skyline.  

Moviment Graffitti condemning the development for prioritising profit over environmental preservation, calling it a symbol of “developers’ savage greed.” Additionally, former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer criticised the government’s maneuvers, expressing concerns that the changes serve developers’ interests rather than the community.