Two firms accuse Sliema council of making illegal demands

Developers of a property in Sliema filed a judicial protest complaining about the "illegal demands" made by the local council in connection with development applications.

Two companies, Nove Development Ltd and XXI Development Ltd, complained that they had been made to pay compensation for erecting a scaffolding on the property's façade. The companies said they had built the scaffolding in such a way that people could safely pass from under it. However, the Sliema local council, they said, still made them pay for the obstruction.

They paid the council over €3,000 under protest for a scaffolding permit for the period between October and December 2008 but they were now being asked to pay a further €3,000 for another period.

The council had also asked for a bank guarantee of €4,660 when the maximum sum it could demand according to law was €233.

The council was refusing to issue the necessary permits until the companies paid the money demanded even though the Director of Local Government had ruled that no deposit was due in this case for scaffolding and that the bank guarantee being asked for was excessive.

The companies added that the refusal by the council to abide by the ruling of the director was causing it damages and they called upon the council to withdraw its illegal demands and to make good the damages sustained. Lawyer Tanya Sciberras Camilleri signed the protest.