The furious owner of a Birkirkara band club building who has not received rent in over 30 years has called on the government to fulfil its promise to buy such properties or allow him to evict his tenants.
Paul Borg Grech has been trying to take legal action to oust the Duke of Connaught’s Own Band Club. However, he is also willing to consider selling the property to the government to resolve the long-standing dispute.
In September, the government announced that it is willing to buy properties used by band clubs that are facing threats of eviction so that they can be rented out to the clubs at a reasonable price.
“I am ready and willing to discuss a way forward. I have provided the evaluation costs of the premises too but I have heard nothing from the authorities whatsoever,” Borg Grech told Times of Malta.
“There are only two outcomes: the government buys the property, and the band club provides them rent, or the band club is evicted.”
Borg Grech’s appeal comes months after the Constitutional Court declared as unconstitutional changes to the law meant to safeguard band clubs from eviction from their leased premises.
For the past seven years, Borg Grech has been in court trying to evict Duke of Connaught’s Own Band Club from the premises. Established back in 1865, it is the oldest band club in Birkirkara.
“I am aware of the importance of band clubs and their role in the community and Maltese heritage but that is not my responsibility as an owner,” he said.
The law allows band clubs to continue occupying their premises even after their eviction has been ordered by a court so long as they pay a rent 10 times higher than they were covering before the eviction order, up to a maximum of one per cent of the property’s value.
“The premises has been in the family for over four generations but in the past 30 years we have not received any income from the band club,” Borg Grech claimed.
He is co-owner of the band club building, along with his cousins and inherited his share after his father, Victor Borg Grech, passed away.
He tried to discuss matters with the former band club president, Carmel Chircop, who was murdered at a Birkirkara multi-storey garage in 2015.
“I tried to reach out to the band club once more after the murder but the committee had changed and the new one has made no attempts to negotiate or discuss with my family the future of the building,” he said.
Regarding the court case, Borg Grech said he is waiting for a final judgment but is giving up hope.
“Now, we wait for a final judgment but it is disheartening that this has taken so long,” he said.
Questions have been sent to the Duke of Connaught’s Own Band Club.