'Abuse' at Dwejra - FAA

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has voiced its objection to the sanctioning of a number of boathouses erected without permits at Dwejra in Gozo.

This request for sanctioning means that the applicants constructed the boathouses without permits and are now requesting that their abuse be legalised. Some of these so-called boathouses sport two floors and a satellite dish on the roof, FAA said in a statement.

According to the agreement reached in the Dwejra Heritage Action Plan, these boathouses will avoid demolition as long as they dismantle any upper storeys, water tanks and satellite dishes, and replace iron and aluminium apertures with wood, paint the boathouses a uniform colour and actually use them for their proper purpose.

FAA recognises that the action plan is made up of a package of measures that includes the banning of all traffic down to the inland sea, the demolition of illegal jetties, the rehabilitation of quarries in the Dwejra area, clamping down on hunting in the area and the introduction of low-pollution engines for the tourist boats. Still, FAA maintained that all this could have been done without rewarding the boathouse owners for their abuse.

FAA maintained that had proper enforcement been in place, these illegal boathouses would have been dismantled years ago, particularly as they were outside the development zone.

"Mepa must give the strong message to the general public that abuse will not be tolerated and all law breakers, irrespective of political persuasion or district, will be penalised," FAA said.

FAA said that since December, Mepa had been flooded with applications to sanction, submitted by very prominent architects in both political camps.