Last October, some residents of Triq it-Tramm in Hamrun claimed that they were ill-treated by MEPA when it dismissed their objections and granted a series of permits for a row of garages that “extend three metres into the street”.

On the basis of this complaint, a MEPA audit report, as reported last week in The Times, has found MEPA guilty of acting in an inconsistent manner towards different applications.

Not so, the garage owners say. The MEPA audit officer, Joe Falzon, and the residents’ complaints, have got it all back to front.

The garages came first. They were built in 1963 according to the permit. This was confirmed by a court sentence handed down by Judge J Said Pullicino in 1992 and not appealed against.

They claim the confusion rose when other people, including a former MP, started building across the street without making allowance for the road. So when the audit officer blamed MEPA for allowing the road to be narrowed from 9.15 metres to 6.1 metres, he should have held responsible those who built last.

Nor is a street considered dangerous if it is 6.1 metres wide. According to the fact book used by the authority, even a 5.5 metre road is considered adequate. This was also confirmed by the Hamrun local council after a site inspection.