Gżira United have defended their padel-court project at the Nicholl Ground on Manoel Island after criticism of the development in the context of plans for a national park.
The club said the site has been allocated for sporting use since 1976 and argued that the project continues, rather than changes, that long-established purpose. Its latest statement follows the Planning Authority’s decision to sanction 20 courts already built and approve another 10 under application PA/07995/25.
The PA imposed a €25,000 planning gain, inclusive of the sanctioning penalty, after works had proceeded before development permission was granted.
Club says project protects sporting use
Gżira United described the criticism as disappointing and said the Nicholl Ground should not be treated as new public land being converted to sport.
“The area in question is not new land being taken away from the public,” the club said. “It is the historic Nicholl Ground, which has been allocated to Gżira United for sporting purposes since 1976.”
The club also maintained that it began work after being advised that no development permit was needed because the location was an existing sports facility and the proposed structures were temporary. That account has not been independently confirmed. Planning enforcement officers halted the works in March, and the application was subsequently decided through the sanctioning process.
Gżira United said the €25,000 penalty was imposed despite what it described as a good-faith effort to improve its facilities.
The club has previously said income from the project is crucial to its financial sustainability. According to an earlier statement reported by Times of Malta, it lost a monthly €10,000 payment connected to MIDI after the government moved to end the company’s Manoel Island concession.
The debate comes after a season in which Gżira United reached the Meridianbet FA Trophy final, underlining the club’s continued sporting activity and ambitions.
Environmental organisations raise objections
The Nationalist Party said on Friday that allowing the courts undermined the government’s promise to turn Manoel Island into a national park. It argued that public land requires legal protection and questioned how the project fits within the park proposal after the state paid more than €43 million to regain control of the island from MIDI.
Din l-Art Ħelwa has also announced that it will appeal the PA decision. The heritage organisation criticised the retrospective approval and the addition of ten further courts, arguing that the development could prejudice a comprehensive plan for the island.
Other objectors have raised concerns about commercial use, light pollution, traffic and the site’s position within the buffer zone protecting Valletta’s UNESCO World Heritage status.
Planning directorate officials supported the application on the basis that the land would retain its recreational use, the structures were reversible and the project would not significantly affect the implementation of wider plans for Manoel Island. The Environment and Resources Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage did not object during screening, according to reporting from the PA hearing.
Conditional commitment to relocate
Gżira United said it remains committed to the proposed national park and has accepted that the padel facilities could be moved if they are found to be incompatible with the government’s future plans.
The club said any relocation would be to an alternative site identified by the government, allowing sporting facilities to continue while the long-term vision for Manoel Island moves forward.
It concluded that debate over the project should recognise both the planning controversy and the Nicholl Ground’s longstanding sporting history.
