The residents of a Guardamangia apartment block sent a registered letter to the developers of an adjacent site warning them to ‘observe the parameters of the law’ one month before the outer wall of the property collapsed.
The information comes to light as the police issued charges against three people accused of causing ‘involuntary damage’ to the building following the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry in December.
The collapse on Triq il-Mimosa occurred early on June 13 and left five families, including two young children, homeless.
Documents seen by Times of Malta show that residents of the block had made several attempts to flag concerns in the ongoing construction work next door. They even sent a registered letter urging the developer to observe restrictions imposed by law.
The letter, sent on May 17, implores the owners of the adjacent site, where construction work progressed, to refrain from carrying out excavation works within 75cm from the boundary wall.
The letter notes that failure to abide by such restrictions would find the proprietors responsible for the consequences.
Residents of the Guardamangia block who spoke to Times of Malta said they had long tried to flag the issue to the authorities but had difficulty in getting the severity of the situation across to the relevant entities. An email dated May 29 from the Building Regulation Office advises resident Janet Walker that the boundary wall issue was not regulated by the BRO but by the Planning Authority.
Case to be heard on April 1
Enquiring about the same issue with the Planning Authority on June 4, Walker was told it did not regulate such matters and was asked to seek legal advice. An email dated June 4 sent by the families’ architect to the construction site’s architect asked the contractor again to observe the law and refrain from excavating within 75 cm of the boundary wall.
“This is in view that between the concrete and rock there is a layer of soil which might compromise the stability of the party wall during excavation,” the email reads. The wall collapsed a little over a week later, on June 13.
A police spokesperson confirmed that three people face charges of causing involuntary damage. They were identified as the director of the company carrying out the project, an official from the same company and the project’s architect.
The case is set to be heard on April 1 before Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo.
Meanwhile, the families affected by the collapse of the block say they have been kept in the dark about the outcome of the magisterial inquiry. They say they had learned of developments in the case from the media and not even their lawyer had been informed.
“We had to find out about this through the media,” the families told Times of Malta. “It’s clear that what we think about this is of very little importance to them.”