Siġġiewi residents living in 'cloud of dust'

Siġġiewi residents are sick and tired of living in a cloud of dust whipped up by "industrial-style quarrying" in a 4,700-square metre site in a residential area, according to deputy mayor Karol Aquilina.

The residents are calling on the developer of the site to observe building regulations that oblige him to control the dust and noise caused.

They are also calling on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) to take any necessary action to ensure the owner abides by the regulations.

According to the Environmental Management Construction Site Regulations the site owner must ensure the "work is carried out in a manner that causes the least nuisance" to neighbours.

Siġġiewi resident Therese Vella is convinced the regulations are being ignored.

"What concerns me the most is that my five-year-old son has asthma... Our quality of life has deteriorated. I can't hang out clothes in the yard or the terrace and, depending on the wind direction, the roof will not do either. I can't open a window to circulate the air and I can't even keep the house clean," she said.

Dr Aquilina explained that the site owner had a permit to build about 120 apartments and some 200 garages on the site. Excavation work started last year and the owner had a permit to cut stone according to Mepa regulations "if machinery and tools are equipped with dust extraction and recovery systems to ensure that dust is not dispersed onto public areas and third party property".

Dr Aquilina said the owner was not abiding by these regulations and homes were constantly filled with dust.

Apart from the dust, he said, neighbours had to live with ongoing construction noise that sometimes started before 7 a.m., thus breaching the law. Given the heavy machinery used for stone cutting, the noise was also excessive.

Dr Aquilina said that last November he moved a motion before the local council calling for Mepa to investigate this matter and take necessary action.

This was unanimously approved by the council and sent to the authority. But no action has been forthcoming.