Mgiebah room in Mepa's sights

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority is carrying out investigations to determine who is behind the illegal construction at Xaghra ta' Girdellu in Mgiebah, limits of Mellieha.

Although Mepa issued an enforcement notice against the Commissioner of Lands and the unknown developer on June 28, it is now investigating claims that the land could be privately owned and not government property, a Mepa spokesman said.

"However, nobody can build anything on that land irrespective of who the owner is," the spokesman insisted. Alternattiva Demokratika and Nature Trust have already objected strongly to the room which was built on rough terrain in a rural area where no development is allowed.

Preliminary information collected by Mepa indicates that a person or persons built the room without a permit and dumped a considerable amount of gravel and rubble on the rocks to construct a road leading to Kortin Road. The new road has been closed and a sign put up noting that the area was "private property".

"Mepa is trying to identify the person who built this illegal room," the spokesman said.

In the meantime, legal provisions give the landowner 16 days, from the day the enforcement notice is issued, to submit an application for the infringement and appeal against the enforcement notification or else restore the site to its original state.

Should this time frame elapse and nobody comes forward by Wednesday, the case will be added to the authority's Direct Action case list to determine what action should be taken.