'No evidence' of felled carob trees in Kalkara

Inspectors from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority have reported finding no evidence of felled carob trees in the Kalkara valley though residents in the area and the Kalkara mayor say two 400-year-old trees were cut down over the weekend.

Sources close to Mepa confirmed that officers visited the site following a complaint that trees were being cut down. Investigations revealed that a part of the valley had already been cleared, the sources said.

Mepa inspectors on Friday met the architect responsible for the development and the person involved in the clearing of the land. The latter declared the trees that had already been uprooted were a bay laurel, a lemon tree and a fig tree as well as some meddler trees.

The sources said the carob trees in the area were on the boundary of the development. Mepa officers pointed out to the developer that, should it be necessary to prune some of them, a permit would be necessary.

According to mayor Michael Cohen and residents, who called The Times to complain, two carob trees had been cut down, "with the blessing" of the authority.

Such trees are protected by law, especially if they are old, unless a permit is issued allowing them to be uprooted - which was the case with these long-standing carobs, Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen said.

But Mepa insisted that if a permit is granted in extremis to cut down a carob tree, a very large number of the species would have to be planted by the developer as a replacement at a huge cost. The complaints referred to permit 6820/95, which specifically lays down that 18 trees of species approved in legal guidelines shall be donated to the Kalkara council and planted in the locality in accordance with the council, a Mepa spokesman said.

The condition in the permit also states it is the responsibility of the applicant to do the transplanting and maintain the trees for a period of five years. If the trees died, they would have to be replaced by similarly mature trees.

The condition is also covered by a bank guarantee of Lm5,000, but the Mepa permit also states that forfeiture of this guarantee would not preclude the applicant from complying fully with the permit as approved.

The authority intended to ensure that all conditions in the permit would be strictly adhered to, the spokesman said.