A man yesterday filed a judicial protest against the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and former board member Catherine Galea claiming that a plot of land, which was in an Outside Development Zone (ODZ), was included in the South Malta Local Plan.

Raymond Avallone, the owner of Ray’s Car Hire Ltd, also complained that the plot of land, which is close to his property, will be eventually developed.

In the protest, Mr Avallone also said that Ms Galea, who was recently asked to resign from her post as deputy chairman by Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino, is the architect who applied for the development of the land when it was still in the ODZ.

He explained that he owns a plot of land in Mdina Road, Zebbug and, after Mepa approved the necessary development permits, he developed it into a showroom and basement.

However before approving his development, Mepa imposed a condition whereby Mr Avallone had to give up three metres of his land as it was just on the boundary of the development zone.

He went on to say that the owners of the plot of land close to his, which was in an ODZ area, submitted a development application through their architect Catherine Galea. The application was turned down by the Mepa board on 4 February 2002.

However, the owners appealed and the decision of the Mepa Appeals Board is still pending.

The writ states that, during a Mepa board meeting held behind closed doors on 18 July 2006, it was decided to include the adjacent plot of land in the South Malta Local Plan and was earmarked for development.

Mr Avallone claimed that it must have been a board member that suggested including the plot of land for development and not the Planning Directorate.

He added that he wrote to the Mepa board requesting a copy of the minutes to find out who made the recommendation but received a reply stating that those minutes are not public since the meeting was held behind closed doors.

Mr Avallone said that Ms Galea should not have participated in the meeting since she is a board member.

As a result, he called on the Mepa board and Ms Galea to give him a copy of the meeting held behind closed doors on 18 July 2006 within a week and added that he was holding them responsible for damages.

Dr Stephen Thake signed the writ.