The area is public land designated for bird hunting and trapping during the shooting season but available for the enjoyment of families who come to appreciate nature and the scenery during the closed hunting season.

Nature Trust said that public property had recently been taken for private use – a new example of a persistent enforcement issue. An ugly building had been erected and an access road to it had been created by dumping rubble over the ecologically important garigue. This access road had been built with the use of heavy vehicles and to add insult to injury, said Nature Trust, a “Private” sign had been placed on the road.

Ix-Xaghra ta’ Girdellu at Mgiebah is one of the few remaining unspoilt areas of natural beauty in Malta. The garigue is teeming with wild thyme (saghtar) and the area provides scenic views of Mellieha Bay on one side and Selmun Palace on the other. There is also a watchtower from World War II in the area, the NGO said.

It urged Mepa to quickly conclude their investigations and proceed to heavily reprimand the culprits in order to send a strong message about how a scheduled area should be respected. Nature Trust said reports on the proceedings had been at Mepa’s offices for the past two weeks but the situation had not yet been rectified.

According to Nature Trust, this means that the site should be returned to its original state at the developer’s expense by demolishing any illegal building and washing debris from the garigue.