I would like to bring to everyone’s attention the way MEPA dealt with a case of change of use from clothes shop to Internet café, snack bar.

In December 2003, I and other residents of Triq Wied Blandun, Paola, signed a petition opposing the said application.

The reasons we opposed it was the lack of parking space, the noise and a downgrading of our residences. We already had to put up with the Galleria Shopping Complex so this was the last thing we needed.

In February 2004 we received a letter from MEPA informing us that the application had been refused. One of the reasons given in the letter was that only small shops (Class 4 as per use classes order 1994) were allowed; that it would have a deleterious impact on the amenity of the area because of noise, additional traffic and extra operating times and conflicted with structure plan policy BENI.

The proposal also ran counter to structure plan policy TRA 4 and the car parking standards set out in Table A 2.5 in the Structure Plan Explanatory Memorandum in that it failed to provide the required car parking spaces. Other reasons were mentioned and a copy of the refusal is also enclosed.

We thought that this was the end of the story but in January 2006 the applicant said that he was going to open and started carrying out structural changes. I and other neighbours contacted MEPA and were informed that a permit had not been issued.

In February, work continued, so we contacted MEPA once again and this time they told us that a reconsideration application had been made, which MEPA still opposed. It seemed that the owner was going ahead illegally.

We suspected something fishy so I contacted MEPA again on 24 April and, surprise surprise, I was told that a board had accepted the reconsideration in October 2005 and a permit had been issued.

This time it was not only an Internet café snack bar but it included a large screen for football games and pool tables.

When I called MEPA and asked why we had not been informed, I was told that it was up to us to keep on checking to see if there had been any appeals.

Wonderful! We were supposed to know the procedures. And how on earth were we to guess that all the serious objections were going to be ignored.

This decision is a total disgrace. It has completely ignored our (residents) right to object at the hearing and sounded the death-knell for any sort of peace in our street.

I wrote a letter to the Director of Planning and so far have received no explanation as to why we were continuously told up until March that the reconsideration had not been accepted. Why did they ignore all the serious objections and why were we not given the chance to complain? Any changes that were made in the original application were for the worse because now we are going to be stuck with a bar, with a large screen and pool tables, posing as an Internet café.

Joseph Mercieca

obo residents of Triq Wied Blandun

PAOLA