A dispute over the ownership of a plot of land earmarked for an aparthotel in Mellieħa looms as objectors claim it belongs to them and not to former magistrate Carol Peralta, who applied for a development permit.
Located next to the cemetery dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy, in Marfa Road, this tract of agricultural land, having a footprint of 5,500 square metres, lies at the bottom of a valley and is outside the development zone.
Dr Peralta wants to build a nine-storey, three-star aparthotel of 118 rooms, an underground parking for 38 cars and some shops.
Published earlier this month, the proposal attracted a barrage of objections, mostly because of its ODZ location. However, the controversy took a different twist when an objection was filed recently on behalf of six individuals who claim the land is leased to them and that Dr Peralta had no title on it.
The objection was filed by Saviour and Alberta Caruana, from Għargħur, Andrew Vella, Mary Vella, Christian Vella and Joseph Valletta from Mellieħa.
They argued that, together with their heirs, they had been in possession of the lease of the agricultural land for decades and were not aware of any other owner.
The granting of the permit would impinge on their property and result in the destruction of agricultural land on which their livelihood depended, the objectors said in their submission.
They also noted that, in 2008, they had objected to a similar application that had been later withdrawn by the applicant – Mark Gaffarena.
Mr Gaffarena subsequently made headlines in 2015 over a controversial deal involving a palazzo in Valletta, where it transpired that he had made a profit of €685,000 on the sale of half of this property to the government a few weeks after acquiring it.
The objectors asked the Planning Authority to “investigate” why specific information on the 2008 application had been altered so it was no longer listed on behalf of Mr Gaffarena but on Dr Peralta.
Expressing concern that this was done to conceal the identity of the original applicant, they requested that the original file – including their previous objection – be attached to the new application.
Meanwhile, an online petition against the proposed aparthotel, launched by the Nationalist Party Mellieħa electoral candidates, has attracted close to 2,000 signatures in a matter of weeks.
The PN candidates are also behind another petition against the government’s plan to sell the historic Selmun Palace.