Following a week-long direct action operation by the Planning Authority, the ‘scar’ which over the years has plagued the countryside area of ‘Ix-Xerriek’, limits of Birzebbuga, was removed resulting in the area having returned to its original state, the PA said in a statement.
With the assistance of the Works and Infrastructure Department and Cleansing Directorate, the Planning Authority’s direct action team, removed, from an area of 10,000m2, over 400 truck loads of scrapped cars, trucks, white goods, tyres and mixed material from the two adjacent illegal scrapyards.
(Before the clean-up)
The direct action was made possible after the Courts turned down a prohibitory injunction request made by the contravenor’s lawyer last April, that had stopped the Authority from further carrying out its duty on both scrapyards.
The Authority followed up this course of action after the interested parties faulted on an agreement that had been reached between the occupiers and the Authority over the past two years. The agreement had given the chance to the site occupiers to remove the illegally deposited material, in phases due to the extent of the site.
The expenses related to this direct action operation will be incurred by the contravenors.
(After the clean-up)
The Planning Authority’s Enforcement Directorate was also assisted by officials from Transport Malta, Animal Welfare and members of the Administrative Law Enforcement Section and the Rapid Intervention Unit within the Police Force.
Over the past days, the Planning Authority also carried out enforcement action, by sealing off a site in Gzira which commenced to operate as a restaurant instead of an approved car park without a permit.