Infrastructure Malta has gone ahead with the uprooting of old trees in Triq in-Nutar Żarb, Attard, despite protests by residents and environmentalists who claimed they have 30 days to contest the permit.

Workers turned up at the site early in the morning and started preparing to pull down the 70-year-old ficus trees, removing branches and loading them onto a truck.

The uprooting of trees underway. Photo taken from resident Alfred Baldacchino's window on Thursday afternoon.

But nearby residents and members of environment and civil society groups such as Graffitti protested and demanded a copy of the permit. The permit, by the Environment Authority, was issued two days ago.

The protestors quickly realised the permits stipulated they had a month to fight the decision. 

Environmentalist Alfred Baldachino called out the "arrogance" of Infrastructure Malta: “they have taken away our right to appeal. Even though they are clearly aware that they should have waited, they are going ahead anyway.”

Another resident Ervin Taylor, said he was extremely upset, but not surprised by the agency’s total disregard of the residents' right to appeal, as it was in line with the way the agency operated.

“That’s the way infrastructure works, they do what they want to do,” he said.

It had been a "hush-hush decision from the start", he said, with residents never being told about the revision of the decision but having to find out for themselves, he explained.

Residents were initially told the trees, which have been a feature of the street for over 70 years. would be spared from destruction as part of the controversial Central Link project.

However, Transport Minister Ian Borg announced a different decision in parliament on Wednesday, explaining that an audit had found the trees could be dangerous for motorists.

On Thursday morning, Moviment Graffiti called out ERA for once again bowing down its head to Infrastructure Malta.

“Similar to what has happened in Dingli, ERA is totally disregarding the interests of residents and the environment, instead bowing down its head to the dictates of Fredrick Azzopardi,” the NGO wrote in a facebook post.

At least one of the trees had been uprooted by Thursday evening, with independent candidate Arnold Cassola posting a photo on Facebook of the tree on a truck and saying "mission accomplished for the two butchers, Ian and Frederick".