Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar deplores the decision taken by Mepa to allow ADT to incorporate Polidano Brothers’ plans for garages into the reconstructed St Paul’s Bay bypass, just in case Polidano Brothers are granted a permit for such work. This is taking place in spite of the fact that Polidano Brothers’ unauthorised building activity in the area had caused the collapse of part of the hillside and the St Paul’s Bay bypass almost a decade ago, very nearly swallowing a neighbour’s residence, that subsequently had to be demolished.

A “cooperative” approach between authority and contractor, while otherwise commendable, is being strongly criticised by FAA in the light of Polidano Brothers’ track record of repeated development infringements, the most recent of which led to the forced resignation of the Mepa board due to the approval of an application to build a supermarket in an Out of Development Zone (ODZ).

In the St Paul’s Bay development, the whole Local Plan was changed in 2006 in order to accommodate Polidano’s plans, changing this area’s ODZ designation into one allowing development, a fact that the residents nearby are challenging. Ever since 2000, Polidano’s abusive activity on this site has been the cause of several enforcement notices issued by Mepa, all of which have been ignored.

FAA, in principle, also questions the new practice of approving private development beneath and within public road foundations, which has already caused much trouble in another highly controversial case FAA was involved in, between Ta’ Paris and Valley Road where another developer with a notorious track record took over half the width of the public road.

The St Paul’s Bay Bypass is one of the main thoroughfares that links the North to the rest of the island. For nine years the public has been denied its full use and thousands of hours have been lost to traffic jams and deviations due to Mepa’s lack of assertive action in handling these transgressors. The report of this latest “cooperation” benefitting Polidano Brothers is the last straw for an exasperated public.

Astrid Vella

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar