Moviment Graffitti in a statement on Thursday, said that it has noted the “public relations offencive made by the applicant of the huge building purporting to be a sheep farm in Bidnija Valley.”

Moviment Graffitti insisted that it “stands by its request for the revocation of the permit which resulted in the permanent scarring of the previously pristine valley.”

The organisation added that “the media agency which is acting on behalf of Jason Vella said that he had been misunderstood and that there was never any intention to turn it into a hotel.”

“We are 100% certain that the permit should never have been granted. It breaches several policies which were not even mentioned in the planning application process,” the activists said.

It pointed out that the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) also objected “and was ignored. After the permit was granted there were several piecemeal minor amendments making the place more akin to a hotel.”

The organisation explained that there was then the application by a company “to effectively use it for hospitality purposes.” This application was originally filed by a previously unknown company – Bidnija Farming Enterprise Ltd. – connected to a certain Dr. Peter Bernard Carbonaro, a person whose name appears as director for three other companies registered in Malta which are all linked to trustee shareholding companies registered in Cyprus, it said.

Graffitti said that the shareholder of the company and the application’s architect is Mr Konrad Bezzina. Mr Bezzina is involved in several other companies unrelated to agriculture and also served as a former member of the Building and Construction Agency’s building regulations board.

“And now another applicant pops back in saying the place was always intended for sheep. We will not be fooled. We stand by our request for the revocation of a building which should never have been built there,” Graffitti said.

Photo: Julian Delia

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