Action against developer for uprooting carob trees

Carob trees were uprooted from Kalkara valley illegally and enforcement action is being taken against the developer, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority said yesterday.

The developer is insisting he has the necessary permits to fell the trees in question.

Residents of Capuchins Street, Kalkara are complaining that protected trees in the valley behind their residences were being cut down by developers who had obtained a permit to build there.

They said that about 15 trees had been cut down over the past two weeks including carob trees, which were protected, and that as soon as the trees were cut down, they were being immediately put in large bags and taken away, as if to remove the evidence of what was being done.

Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen confirmed to The Times that there had been at least two carob trees which had been cut down.

Mr Cohen said he had told Mepa about the situation but they denied that any protected trees had been destroyed.

The council, however, was well aware of the situation and was on the look-out to see what was happening. This, he said, indicated there was a problem at Mepa which issued permits and did not ensure the conditions attached to them were adhered to.

A Mepa spokesman confirmed yesterday that carob trees were indeed uprooted without a permit. Enforcement action was being taken against the applicant who will have to compensate by way of a donation of trees to the local council.

But architect Tancred Mifsud, representing the developer, said when contacted that his clients had the necessary Mepa permits to fell the trees.

He said the Kalkara local plan had allocated the site for development, the necessary studies had been carried out and a permit for the removal of the trees, including the protected ones, had been issued.

In return, his client had been bound by a bank guarantee of Lm5,000 to plant 18 endemic trees and be responsible for them for five years.

A meeting was held with the mayor last Monday to identify a suitable location and Mr Mifsud said he proposed a buffer zone lower to the one where the development is taking place. He will now be writing to the council including a site plan of where the developer was proposing to plant the trees.

Mr Mifsud said his client had every intention of complying with the planning conditions and had the required permits to remove the trees. Mr Cohen said the council had some days ago asked Mepa to state in writing which trees it had given permission to be cut down but Mepa had not replied.The council, the mayor added, would continue objecting to this development.

Annalise Falzon, from Nature Trust, has been monitoring the situation and said that not only were protected carob trees and bay laurels uprooted, other trees which were older than 50 years had also been removed.

Ms Falzon said the developer had not put up any notices on site indicating that the trees were being removed.