Questions have been raised over the way in which the Polidano brother have managed to obtain the necessary permits to hold a fair – il-Fiera l-Kbira – at the Montekristo Estates in Hal Farrug, despite the fact that the sprawling estate is subject to numerous Mepa enforcement notices.

Back in November, enforcement officers from the Planning Authority, as well a large number of police officers and soldiers, backed by heavy machinery and even an AFM plane, descended upon Hal Farrug after the Polidano brothers – Charles, also known as ‘ic-Caqnu, and Paul – ignored a number of enforcement notices and carried on with unsanctioned work.

Mepa intended to demolish illegal structures that had “mushroomed” around the complex without the necessary permits. But enforcement officers only managed to knock down one illegal structure – a four metre-high concrete store – until the courts ordered demolition work to stop after the Polidanos filed a prohibitory injunction. At the time, Mepa CEO Johann Buttigieg had accused the Polidano brothers of thinking they were above the law.

Some days later, Charles Polidano apologised to the Prime Minister in a press statement and confirmed his company's “willingness to fully cooperate with the competent authorities on the matter”.

Six months down the line, the incident has been all but forgotten and the authorities have found no objections to issuing a trade licence to the Polidano brothers.

Sources who spoke to this paper said that establishments need to have a trade licence to be able to organise fairs. Trade licences are issued by the Trade Department.

But a trade industry source insisted that trade licences are not issued so easily. “The usual procedure would involve inspections on site by a number of authorities, including the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and Mepa. Unless everything is in line, the licence would not be issued.”

A spokesman for the Economy Ministry confirmed that the Polidano brothers had applied for a trade licence and had passed all the tests. “Montekristo submitted the necessary application and architect’s declaration and the trading licence was issued, which permitted the premises to hold commercial fairs. They also submitted the necessary ad hoc application and the basic fee for a commercial fair licence for the fair in question. Therefore, according to the Commerce Department’s records, Montekristo has undergone all the necessary procedures to hold the Commercial Fair you are referring to.”

The Ministry, however, did not reply to a specific question which asked if a trade licence can be issued to an establishment with pending enforcement notices and illegal structures.

On the other hand, Mepa CEO Johann Buttigieg has failed to reply to questions sent by this paper on how many enforcement notices are still pending at Montekristo. Questions were sent on Thursday 26 June but were ignored by Mr Buttigieg, as have several reminders to Mepa’s PR office. However, the authority’s map server shows that there are numerous active enforcement notices on the site.

Evidence suggests illegal work continues

In the meantime, strong evidence suggests that some illegal structures have not only not been demolished but work on them has actually continued. Sections of the media had reported back in November that the so called ‘De Redin Tower’ is one of the illegal structures that Mepa intended to demolish. A photo taken at the time showed an incomplete roof, with the supports sticking out. But pictures taken earlier this week seem to show that the roof has been completed and the supports are now completely covered.

Another photo shows scaffolding on the façade of a British colonial style building; however it is unclear if any work has been carried out on that building since November.

While Mepa has declined to answer our questions on the number of active enforcement notices, an authority source said the situation is quite complicated since some of the buildings might be perfectly legal whereas others might not. The Polidanos could also have appealed on other enforcement notices or they could have applied for sanctioning of illegalities.

It is pertinent to point out that both the PL and PN held electoral parties at the Montekristo Estates. Charles and Paul Polidano have a chequered history of illegal development and according to a newspaper report in March 2013, at the time they had 55 active enforcement notices in their name for environmental abuses going back almost 20 years.

These included four enforcement notices issued for illegalities at the Montekristo estates, six quarries, an illegally built villa in Safi and a restaurant in St Paul's Bay. In 2002, 1,200 Riviera Hotel employees were put on forced leave after Mepa issued a garnishee order against the hotel. The garnishee order had been issued after the Polidano Group failed to make one of the payments forming part of a Lm200,000 contribution to a Mepa environment-improvement fund, imposed on the development of the former Solemar Hotel.