Tribunal Suspends Comino Six Senses Environmental Permit Pending Appeal
In brief
- The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has temporarily suspended the environmental permit for the proposed Six Senses project on Comino.
- The order halts planned site operations, including tree uprooting and excavation, while an appeal against the development is assessed.
- Environmental campaigners welcomed the interim decision but cautioned that the broader effort to protect the island is ongoing.
The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has suspended the environmental permit authorising works for the proposed Six Senses complex on Comino. The interim order temporarily freezes development activity on the protected island while an appeal against the project is considered.
The suspension directly impacts preliminary ground interventions approved under the permit. Contractors are prohibited from carrying out excavation works and uprooting trees across the project footprint until the tribunal concludes its proceedings.
The development, promoted by Hili Group, entails the construction of a luxury hotel alongside a collection of serviced bungalows on Comino. The project has drawn substantial public scrutiny and opposition due to the environmental sensitivity of the designated Natura 2000 site.
Environmental organisations challenged the initial approval granted by the Environment and Resources Authority, arguing that the scheduled works pose irreversible risks to local biodiversity and landscape value.
While activists welcomed the tribunal's intervention as an important immediate safeguard, they noted that the suspension represents only a preliminary step. Campaigners emphasised that the principal challenge against the full scale of the commercial development remains to be decided.
The freeze on physical works will remain in place until the tribunal issues a definitive ruling on the validity of the environmental permit.
The Spin Room
Low media divide. Both outlets reported the tribunal's suspension of the environmental permit consistently, highlighting the temporary freeze on excavation and tree uprooting.