Mellieha residents have written to the Prime Minister requesting his intervention on the Mellieha Heights saga, a statement by Il-Kollettiv read.

"Residents and the Local Council have appealed the development permit in front of the EPRT, following their request to the National Audit Office for an investigation on the transfer of land to developer Paul Attard for a mere €380,000 in yearly ground rent. Despite this, works are set to commence this Saturday, with the permit being fast-tracked and approved within a period of just two months," the NGO said.

The letter reads: "in light of two recent declarations you have made in the media, we, residents of Mellieha Heights and surrounding neighbourhoods, are formally requesting you revoke the transfer of a plot of land from the Lands Authority to a private developer."

"On the 6^th October 2024, you stated in an interview with three journalists that you had given a directive to the Lands Authority that public land should not be sold for private development; this was the day after we held a press conference asking for the agreement to be revoked. On the 23^rd November, two days after the PA issued the permit for this development, you repeated this once again to the media. In both instances, you stopped of short of saying that this agreement should be revoked," the letter reads.

"We are disappointed at how you are ignoring our pleas to save our quality of life - which is, after all, what you promised before the last election - and that your interest in this matter only comes as a reaction to the media. We are also angry at the way with which the Planning Authority has fast-tracked the developer's application, issuing the permit in a record time of two months, whilst summarily ignoring our concerns. The Planning Commission's members attitude towards us was dismissive, arrogant, and definitely not servient to the public interest."

"We feel abandoned by the government and its authorities, who insists on facilitating private development which will make a sheer profit off the back of our quality of life, our health, and our mental wellbeing; this is unacceptable in every town in which it is allowed to happen," the letter that accompanied the press statement read.

"In light of all this, we ask you to intervene in our favour and to revoke the land transfer, and to instruct the Planning Authority to revoke the permit granted. We agree with our Local Council that the land in Mellieha Heights should be turned into a public open space, since the nearby area designated by Project Green will never compensate for the loss of air and light caused by the proposed development."

The NGO said that despite calls, the Prime Minister has yet to accept a meeting with both residents and local council representatives.