Uprooting of trees condemned

The uprooting of four Pine trees in Attard near Mount Carmel Hospital has been condemned by Graffiti Movement.

Their removal had been allowed by the Nature Protection Unit of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the movement said while appealing to civil society to pressure the authorities to stop taking decisions that went against the national environmental interest.

A Mepa spokesman told The Times the trees had been removed to allow for better traffic management in view of an application for the building of a new petrol station. One of the conditions attached to the granting of a permit for the petrol station was the planting of trees which would take place in consultation with the Attard local council, the spokesman added.