The permit was issued subject to a number of conditions. Besides an evaluation of the building’s external appearance and its means of access, the conditions include a non-destructive survey of the site’s features prior to any clearance or excavation work carried out on the site. An archaeological monitor will have to be present during all work, in order to safeguard the provisions in the Cultural Heritage Act.

The monitor will be paid by the developers who will also have to provide the authority with a nominal bank guarantee of Lm20,000.

The site is accessed by three roads: Burlemach Street, Ghar Dalam Street and De Redin Street, and is directly adjacent to the entrance of Ghar il-Friefet (Butterflies’ Cave) – an underground cave of ecological, geological and archaeological importance. Moreover it forms part of a larger archaeologically significant area that includes Ghar Dalam.

Under the 1995 Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan, part of the area was zoned as a green area because of the ecological

features of Ghar il-Friefet. However, upon application on the part of the developer, Mr Albert Mizzi, the then Planning Authority requested that a survey of the cave be carried out to be able to plot its position and

layout.

The survey indicates that the cave falls outside the footprint of the site in question and therefore, development should not pose any threat to the cave, which enables the revaluation of the green area zoning.

During the site clearance, Pleistocene deposits or other features of potential geological, paleontological or archaeological interest have to be reported immediately to the competent authorities and no further work may be carried out until the necessary investigations have been carried out.

The hearing was originally set for 9.30am, but did not actually start before 10.30am. The original time is validated by a notice attached to the entrance door of the Mepa board premises signed by the secretary Mr Francis Tabone, dated 17 June.

Unfortunately those present had to wait for an entire hour before the hearing started. The board gave no reasons for the delay; instead a lady waiting just outside the boardroom was abruptly told by a board member, “you should have been waiting downstairs,” before letting her in. The board member seemed to be unaware of the fact that there was no receptionist “downstairs” to indicate where the lady, or anyone else, should have waited.