Two weeks ago, the authority issued an enforcement notice in relation to works on one part of the site on which boundary walls were built without a permit and new access points created. Inert material was also dumped on-site, while excavation was also carried out on a part of the land. 

While an enforcement notice was issued in relation to this part of the site, another part of it, which also contains several illegalities, was not referenced by the PA. 

Sources familiar with the planning process explained that the authority had not issued any enforcement notice because the site was the subject of an application for the sanctioning of illegal works. Because of this, the authority refrains from issuing any enforcement notices, pending the outcome of the sanctioning application. 

However, this week, the application to sanction the illegal works was withdrawn, making it possible for an enforcement notice to be issued. 

In the case that no enforcement notice is issued and a second application sanction is submitted, the window for any form of enforcement action would have been lost, at least until the hypothetical application is decided. 

A spokesperson for the authority told Lovin Malta that now that the application had been withdrawn, “the authority is in the process of issuing an enforcement notice for this site”.

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