Update 12.25pm

Delimara, one of the country’s most scenic coastlines, remains a haven for illegalities a year after this newspaper highlighted the problem.

In fact, visits by this newspaper last week show the problem has grown worse.

The area is a notorious hotspot for illegal hunting and trapping, with at least five sites widely known for a list of irregularities (see map).

The infringements include a host of developments built without a permit, ranging from boathouses to estates with pools that rival major villas.

READ: The 'untouchables' who rule Delimara

A few of these sites are private hunting estates all year round, regardless of when seasons open and close, sources told The Sunday Times of Malta.

The walls surrounding some of these sites are set up with CCTV cameras, allowing the owners to monitor those approaching. Those occupying the area do not hesitate to intimidate those dangerously close to entering their prized spots.

People who frequent the area have described these men as “thugs” no one would dare challenge.

These men are considered “untouchables” in the area despite repeated disregard for the law. Their continued presence and the increase in illegalities proves there is at least some truth in that.

THE FREE-FOR-ALL IN PICTURES

A. This family has sealed off a section of the coast and added new rooms and assorted aesthetic carbuncles from time to time.

B. The site of a proposed boutique hotel. The owner wants to evict hunters and trappers who occupy the area. The Sunday Times of Malta visited and found caged dogs, protected birds and illegally built rooms - see story below. 

C. The infamous wader trapping site overlooking Kalanka that has been a no-go area for a number of years.

D. An individual has claimed the marked area and it is effectively closed off to the public. Repeated efforts by this newspaper to gain access to the area for photos have failed. Journalists were warned off the site by the occupier. The only effective access to the area is by sea.

E. This marks a very recent development (June 2016). The owner of a field overlooking St Peter’s Pool has turned his land into a car park. He has splashed directions and arrows all over the place. He sells drinks from a makeshift room and has now even put up a sign that reads, ”Ask for taxi.”

F. and G. Two developments that have become villas. They were sealed off with huge concrete blocks by the Planning Authority a couple of years ago but are now back to normal use.

Kalanka hotel - Owner wants hunters out

Conflict has erupted on the site where an ecological boutique hotel is planned at the scenic Kalanka Bay in Delimara, as tensions over land ownership and use escalate.

The dispute is over some 20 tumoli of land adjacent to the site where Kenneth Abela plans to build his hotel.

The hotel application has been opposed by environmentalists. However, in a rare situation, their objection sustains the demands of hunters and trappers, who have forcibly occupied the adjacent piece of land for decades, official records show.

This is my land. If I can’t build the eco boutique hotel to be enjoyed by locals and tourists, then I’ll build my villa

The tract they occupy is not part of the proposed hotel, according to the development application for the project submitted to the Planning Authority. Yet Mr Abela, who owns both pieces of land, clearly wants to evict the hunters and trappers.

Speaking to this newspaper, he made a commitment not to develop the site adjacent to the hotel, saying his intention was to use it for organic farming and the introduction of endemic species.

He argued that hunters and trappers had been exploiting a lease for farmers while using the area for their own purposes. He said no farming had been done in years.

The Sunday Times of Malta visited the site and entered the area held by the families claiming that their right of use of the site had been inherited over generations. There was no real farming taking place – the area was set up for hunting and trapping.

Protected bird species were seen held on site. At the entrance, a number of dogs were seen in cages and they appeared to be in poor health. A number of rooms on the site were built illegally, according to Planning Authority records.

Getting these people off his family’s land and turning it over for organic farming is the personal mission of Mr Abela.

The area, where the dilapidated structure of a hotel, built in the 1950s, is situated, remains controversial: build an ecological hotel or allow it to return to its natural state?

The problem is that this is private land and a rebuilding of the footprint is permissible in planning policies.

“This is my land. If I can’t build the eco boutique hotel to be enjoyed by locals and tourists, then my alternative is simple: I’ll build my villa, but I’d be the only one enjoying it then. This is not Corinthia or the Hilton, where public land was given for tourism,” Mr Abela said.