The caravans at Little Armier bay may soon be removed after the government said it did not consider them to be 'rooms' included in an agreement reached with boathouse owners in the area.
The 2003 agreement with the government stated rooms built in the Armier area before 1992 (when the Planning Authority was set up) would not be demolished and that the government was 'committed to take any legal steps to ensure that the occupants' interests are safeguarded'.
The owners of 12 caravans, that have been perched along Little Armier bay for over 20 years, have been insisting they fell under that agreement. To back up their argument, they produced a letter sent to them by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in 2008, refreshing the 2003 agreement.
However, the government is disputing the caravan owners' interpretation.
A spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat of Land said: "Convention differentiates between the definition of a caravan and that of a room and this is substantiated by any dictionary.
"Since the 2003 correspondence refers precisely to 'rooms built prior to 1992', it is evident that a caravan is not covered by this correspondence. Furthermore, a caravan should remain mobile and in a position to be moved within a reasonably short (period) of time."
When asked about the fate of the caravans, the spokesman refused to commit to concrete action, saying: "Appropriate decisions will be taken in due course."
Ever since a botched attempt by the government to demolish the illegal boathouses in 1991, the issue has resurfaced at every election, with boathouse owners reaching agreements with government and opposition on ways to regularise their position.
Earlier this month, the Mellieħa council served the 12 caravan owners with notices informing them they had to leave the area they have been occupying illegally for years. The notices were sent after a new bylaw was put in place.
Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar told The Sunday Times the government spokesman's interpretation of the agreement confirmed the stand originally taken by the council when it issued the caravans with the notices.
"This shows that the caravans have to go... I, personally, never changed my position, that is, the council has the legal back-up to remove the caravans from there.
"I maintain there is nothing stopping the council from removing the caravans from there according to the bylaw... We decided to be prudent and wait for official advice from the government entities involved before enforcing the bylaw," he said.
He reiterated that the council had even offered caravan owners an alternative site until September - something it was not obliged to do.
Tarcisio Barbara, on behalf of the caravan owners, insisted that the caravans were covered by the government agreement.
"They were caravans once but they can no longer be considered as such. The government even provided them with water and electricity - something mobile caravans do not have," he said.
He referred to the Għadira boathouses saying some were actually caravans that had not budged in years, yet they were being allowed to stay. Mr Barbara said the caravan owners may consider taking legal action if they were asked to leave.
He added that Armier Development Limited, set up at the government's request, had tried to find a solution six-and-a-half years ago when it submitted a development application to turn the illegal shanty town into an organised cluster of beachhouses, under the agreement with the government. The application was still pending and this was not the fault of the boathouse or caravan owners, he said.
In a strongly-worded statement, four NGOs last week accused caravaners of insolently demanding alternative sites in locations convenient to them in order to move off the land they illegally occupy.