Govt reconsiders Queen’s Hotel residents’ temporary relocation

The Minister for Housing, Pat Orfila, said plans to temporarily relocate some Queen’s Hotel residents to a property in Engineer’s Lane are being reconsidered.

Ms Orfila told Parliament she could not confirm any intended relocation at this stage.

The Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi, put questions to the minister after it was reported by this newspaper that a location on Engineer’s Lane had been earmarked.

At the time, Ms Orfila said the living conditions in the Queen’s Hotel would be improved imminently and, in the meantime, temporary accommodation was being sought.

She said the location in Engineer’s Lane would house some 30 residents, while the remainder would move to the Sunrise Motel.

It was expected the residents would move to the temporary location around April to May.

Last week, Ms Orfila told Parliament that the move would take place when there is a suitable place to be relocated to.

“We're not going to put pressure [on this],” Ms Orfila said.

“We want to get things right… We don't want to be accused afterwards of just, you know, dumping people here or there. We want to get it right.”

“We are going to be relocating… We want to do it as quickly as we can. But there is definite relocation going to take place.”

She added that the Government is looking into the matter very carefully.

“We have decided to really look at whether it's worth relocating some or everybody, or doing it another way,” Ms Orfila said.

The relocation of Queen’s Hotel residents has been an ongoing issue since November last year when the residents facing eviction refused to move.

The 50 residents were set to be relocated to the Sunrise Motel but rejected this due to concerns about cramped conditions, with up to eight people in one room.

The residents said this left them feeling like second-class citizens, but also raised concerns over the deterioration of the Queen’s Hotel and the squalid conditions the men were living in.

In January, the residents aired fresh concerns over the lack of repairs to the decrepit building.

The Queen’s Hotel is set to be handed over to a developer and demolished to make space for the mixed-use Queen's Gate development, which will feature residential and commercial spaces.