Photographs taken yesterday by The Malta Independent on Sunday cast doubt on statements made by the Planning Authority (PA) that illegal campsites at Gozo’s Ramla Bay had been removed and that the area was being monitored.

Over the past few days, in fact, areas around the popular beauty spot appear to have been ‘developed’ further, with fences, steps and padlocks affixed to ramshackle structures. There are also signs that heavy machinery was brought on site for landscaping purposes.

The area is littered with old refrigerators and other white goods, plastic lawn furniture, and rubbish dumped in bushes.

The Planning Authority informed this newspaper on Friday that it had intervened to ensure that the site was cleared of the illegal structures and returned to its natural state. It also said it that would be monitoring the area — one of archaeological importance within a protected Natura 2000 site.

The makeshift campsites are reminiscent of a similar situation at Gozo’s San Blas Bay back in 2014, when the Planning Authority ordered the removal of a campsite set up in the area.