Quarry owner to get €19K over delays to turn site into a vineyard
Work that was supposed to be completed by 2004 was only finalised in 2012
An appeal court has confirmed a judgment ordering the government to pay €18,772 in damages to a quarry owner due to delays in an agreement to fill a disused quarry intended for use as a vineyard.
The court found that the Minister for Rural Affairs and Resources at the time, George Pullicino, had entered into an agreement in 2002 to fill the quarry with construction material, cover it with soil, and return it to the owners within two years.
The owners planned to partner with established wineries to convert the land into a vineyard.
However, the work, which was supposed to be completed by 2004, was only finalised in 2012.
The Court of Appeal, presided over by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and Judges Christian Falzon Scerri and Josette Demicoli, heard how Victor and Joseph Bonavia owned seven tumoli of land in the limits of Għarghur that had been used as a quarry.
They had applied for and obtained a permit to fill the site so it could be used as agricultural land.
In April 2002, they entered into an agreement with the government, granting it two years to complete the backfilling process using construction material and to overlay it with soil.
However, the process took significantly longer than agreed, as authorities dragged their feet and delayed the works, which were only completed in 2012.
They subsequently took the matter to court, seeking damages for loss of income caused by these delays.
Victor Bonavia said that the relays also forced him to push back his retirement from the police force, where he worked.
The First Court awarded damages, and the Court of Appeal has now confirmed that decision.