Developers warned over Ramla appeal

The developers of the proposed Ramla l-Hamra tourist complex were yesterday given an ultimatum to pay their pending fee by May or lose their appeal.

The warning was given during an appeals board sitting in Gozo. The board warned the developers that their appeal would fall through unless they paid up. In July 2007, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had granted a permit for the development of Ulysses Lodge, overlooking Ramla l-Hamra, into a 23-unit villa complex.

However, four months later, the Mepa board unanimously revoked the full outline and development permit after it found that a tract of land within the proposed site was government property. The developers filed an appeal. Last July, the appeals board, presided over by chairman Ian Spiteri Bailey, deferred the case to November after it was revealed that the developers had failed to pay the fees required to file an appeal.

The board had ordered the developers to pay the full amount within two weeks. The November hearing never took place due to bad weather and was held yesterday.

The fee for appeals amounts to €186 or five per cent of the planning application fees paid previously, whichever is higher. The precise figure was not available yesterday but even if it were the latter, it is not understood to be very high.

During yesterday's hearing, the board noted that the developers had still not paid the full amount and granted them two months grace to do so. It will abstain from hearing the appeal unless the fees are paid by the next sitting scheduled for May.

In handing down its decision, the board referred to a number of previous cases where the developers were given a chance to pay the fees before the case became null.