Environmental works tied to the proposed Six Senses hotel on Comino have been suspended after the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal ruled that an environmental permit authorising nature-related activity on the island must be paused while an appeal against it is heard.

The permit in question was issued by the Environment and Resources Authority and had allowed specific ecological works to proceed, principally the removal and transplantation of trees and shrubs on site. It was appealed separately from the broader planning permission for the hotel itself, which is also currently under appeal.

The developer, HV Hospitality, the hospitality arm of Hili Ventures, did not object to the suspension. The company noted that the only element of the permit tied to a seasonal deadline is the tree and shrub transplanting, which must be carried out in winter to give specimens the best chance of survival. With the appeal expected to conclude before the cold months arrive and no other works planned in the interim, the practical disruption is modest.

HV Hospitality has consistently presented the Six Senses project as a net environmental gain. The company says the finished hotel and bungalow footprint will be more than 8,200 square metres smaller than the existing Comino Hotel and bungalows it would replace, consistent with local planning policy favouring rehabilitation of existing tourism facilities over new builds.

On the tree question, the company has stated that of roughly 2,500 specimens currently on site, around 1,900 are alien, invasive or ecologically incompatible species whose removal is needed to allow native habitats to recover. Of the approximately 600 native and protected specimens, around 550 would be carefully transplanted and roughly 50 permanently removed, with each removal offset at a ratio of ten new plantings to one. All works would be carried out under specialist ecological supervision.

The developer also says the project would introduce around 55,000 new trees and plants, more than twenty times the current number on site, and would return over 8,200 square metres of previously built-up land to its natural state. HV Hospitality describes the Six Senses concept as a benchmark for sustainable luxury in Malta and the broader Mediterranean.