PN calls for immediate action on illegality at Armier
The Natiionalist Party expressed serious concern about the situation at Armier, where an illegal structure has allegedly continued to be built despite reports, warnings and an Enforcement Notice issued by the Planning Authority.
This case, which was brought to public attention by the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU) and reported in the media, raises serious questions about whether the authorities are genuinely enforcing the laws that are meant to protect land, the environment and the public interest. According to media reports, the Malta Ranger Unit had already raised concerns about this site before the election, yet despite this, once the election passed, works allegedly continued at an even faster pace. From a few concrete blocks placed on the site a few days before the election, in less than two weeks what appears to be a villa is now being built on the site.
The PN, in a statement, noted that what is happening at Armier is not an isolated case of controversial development, but a clear example of an enforcement system that is failing to act in time. When an Enforcement Notice is issued and works allegedly continue regardless, the message sent is extremely dangerous: that those who break the law can keep going until the damage is done.
The PN erefore supports the call by the Nationalist Mayor of Mellieħa Gabriel Micallef for the Planning Authority to enforce its own notices and act immediately. It is not enough that, according to reports, the Authority is fining the developer and asking him to restore the site to its original state within fifteen days.
Worse still, the PN noted with concern that this illegality is taking place on public land. The Government therefore cannot remain passive or silent. The Lands Authority must explain what action it has taken to protect public land and why this situation was allowed to escalate in this manner.
It is ironic that, at the very same time as all this is happening in Armier and the Government is doing nothing, Robert Abela is now boasting that the Cabinet’s first decision in this legislature was to start the process for agricultural land at Wied iż-Żrinġ, near Bulebel in Żejtun, to be removed from the development zone, the PN said. This comes 16 months after the government transferred this agricultural land back to the Lands Authority from its own agency, INDIS, while failing to impose a condition that the land should not be developed – precisely as the Opposition had urged it to do in April of last year.
That decision shows that, where there is political will, the government can take steps to protect land in the public interest. The PN asked why the same principle is not being applied consistently in Mellieħa, where the case at Armier is not the first case of development on public land to have raised concern.
The PN said it believes that the protection of land, the enforcement of the law and the defence of the public interest should not depend on where the land is located, who is involved, or whether the case arises before or after an election.
If the Government had the political will to act on Bulebel, it should have the same political will to act on what is happening in Mellieħa, including at Armier.
If the Planning Authority issued an Enforcement Notice at Armier, it is difficult to understand what it is waiting for before ensuring that this notice is enforced through effective action that stops this illegal development, the PN said.
And if illegality is taking place on public land, the Lands Authority and the Government must act without further delay.
The PN called on the Government, the Planning Authority and the Lands Authority to provide a clear explanation and take immediate action on this case.
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