The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has taken direct action on two separate sites at Qala and Kercem in Gozo and one site between Mgarr and Zebbiegh in Malta.

In Qala, MEPA’s Enforcement Directorate demolished a rural structure which was constructed on the periphery of an ODZ area, along the ridge which lies below the promenade, best know for its breathtaking views of Malta and Comino. The illegal structure, which the contravenor tried to camouflage with vegetation, included a room with rubble wall cladding, another structure below it, and an unsightly metal pipe structure above it. This operation spanned over two days.

In Kercem in Triq l-Ghadir, the Authority removed a number of concrete slabs that were illegally placed over a reservoir that was not to be roofed over so as to avoid its possible conversion to some other use.

A large garage, with an external footprint of over 63m², built without any planning permission along Triq il-Banjijiet Rumani between Mgarr and Zebbiegh, was demolished earlier this month by MEPA, as it continued to clamp down and remove illegal development especially in areas outside the development boundaries.

Although the site owner, following the issuing of an enforcement notice, tried to sanction the development, which is in an archaeologically sensitive area, the Development Control Commission had refused the application given that the development was effectively more than four times larger and higher than what the policy for an agricultural store will permit. Additionally the Commission noted that the applicant was not a registered farmer.

On previous occasions, similar direct action operations have been carried out by MEPA’s Enforcement directorate in this area.

Perit Alexander Borg, Director of Enforcement said “The establishment, last year, of an enforcement directorate with a dedicated structure, has made the Authority much more effective in ensuring that its policy and decisions are being respected and complied with, and the deterrence to embark on illegal development as a result has increased.”

Photos show from top left the sites at Qala, Kercem and at Mgarr, Malta

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