Bajja Developments Ltd, the owners of the Le Meridien Hotel in St Julian’s, filed a judicial protest yesterday against the Health Inspectorate, holding it responsible for its go-ahead for two construction projects on the periphery of the hotel.

The judicial protest was filed against the Health Ministry, the Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry and the Health Department’s Director General. The company explained that the owners of two sites adjacent to the hotel filed three applications before the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to demolish the existing buildings and construct apartments, penthouses and garages.

In order to receive the necessary development permits, these applications and the relevant plans had to first be approved by the health inspectorate.

The company claimed that although, according to law, the plans had to include a side cartilage all along the site, half of this has been eliminated, but the projects still received the consent of the Health Inspec-torate. It called on the ministry and the health authorities to withdraw the approval which, it claimed, was illegal, and said it was holding them responsible for damages it may suffer as a result.

Dr Michael Schiriha and Dr Joanne Vella Cuschieri signed the protest.