Protecting Gnejna Bay

I refer to the articles published in The Times. During a council meeting held on July 29, Mgarr local council unanimously agreed to comment on and inform your readers of the following facts.

The council was very pleased to note that Nature Trust (Malta) has brought to the attention of the public and the authorities the problems caused by vehicles parked on the beach forming part of the picturesque Gnejna Bay. What is saddening though is the fact that the council has been reporting this malpractice to no avail. Action seems to have been taken because the issue has gone public.

I refer to the article "Lippija Tower restoration taken in hand" (July 21) which said that, about a year ago, Mgarr deputy mayor Giovanni Gatt had appealed in The Times for the tower to be repaired before it was too late. Your readers may have been given the impression that action on this tower was only taken because of the article written about a year ago. We would like to inform your readers that such an appeal had already been made by Mgarr council back in 2000.

With reference to an article in the same issue entitled "Polluting the great outdoors" by Roger Mifsud we would like to say that Mr Mifsud did not contact any of the council members or staff as indicated in the article. In this regard any comment regarding the way the Mgarr council operates is unfounded.

Mgarr council, conscious of the sensitivity of the problems at Gnejna Bay, took all those necessary measures in its power. The council does not issue permits for discos or any other activity during which loud music is played. So any such activity is breaching the law. This is indicated on the signs, which the local council has put up in the parking area just before one reaches the sandy beach. It seems that Mr Mifsud did not notice the sign.

The council feels offended with comments like "Decibels are apparently not something they know about at rural Mgarr". How does Mr Mifsud know? He did not ask us. We did not even issue a permit for any sort of disco as he alleged in his article!

Whoever applies for a permit at Mgarr council's office is asked to furnish all the necessary details regarding the activity and is briefed on what is permissible and what is not. When we have a number of applications for large BBQs to be organised on the same day we may refuse some of the applications on first-come-first-served basis. In this manner we try to manage the influx of cars and people.