Residents act to halt Pender Place excavations

About 180 residents of The Gardens and adjoining areas in St Julians have filed a judicial protest asking the Malta Environment and Planning Authority not to approve any works or excavations at the former Maltacom site in Pender Place before an environment impact assessment was presented and other formal procedures observed.

The residents said that if Mepa allowed the excavation of some 300,000 cubic metres of rock it would be authorising the digging of an area the size of the Red China Dock in a residential area and before the project itself was approved. This meant that if the project did not go through there would still be a gigantic hole and this would have a negative impact on the environment apart from depreciating the value of property in the area.

They said that last October, when the planning applications were published, they had objected to the proposed development claiming that, as proposed, it infringed many of Mepa's own policies. The St Julians local council had seconded the residents' objection and lodged its own objections.

In November, the objectors were summoned to a meeting with Mepa officials to elaborate on their objections and were given an assurance that nothing further would be done before a meeting with the developers. But, almost seven months had passed without a meeting being held and then, suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, came the press reports about action taken by Labour MP Joseph Brincat who sat on the Mepa board.

In a judicial protest against Mepa chairman Andrew Calleja, Dr Brincat argued that when the Pender Place development brief was issued, one important condition was that the project would have to be subjected to an EIA, and it was on this basis that a call for tenders had been issued.

Nonetheless, the Mepa board, in its June 1 sitting, approved a motion that excavation works could start immediately, despite the fact that no EIA had been submitted for Mepa's consideration. This, he submitted, was abuse of power.

The residents said that if Dr Brincat's allegations were true, which they seemed to be, then their rights were going to be seriously prejudiced. This was because their legitimate objections to the project were not going to be considered.

They held the authority liable in any damages suffered.

Lawyer Ian Refalo signed the protest.