Legal hitch delays bus shelter decision

Two applications for the installation of bus shelters at Hompesch Road, in Fgura, were treated differently because of a legal hitch, a Mepa spokesman told The Times yesterday.

Mepa's reaction was sought following complaints by the Fgura local council that two applications for bus shelters submitted last June were treated differently - one was approved last January while no date was yet given for the board's decision on the other.

Fgura mayor Darrin Marmara said he could not understand why the installation of these two bus shelters had taken so long and were treated differently. A Mepa spokesman explained that normally bus shelters do not need a full development application, but in this case, an application was needed because they included the fixing of adverts.

"The erection of one of the bus shelters involved attaching the bus shelter to a third party property and Mepa was seeking legal advice about the matter to avert problems in future as such a permit could set a precedent.

"The advice Mepa has been given is that like all other permits, this permit would be issued safeguarding third party civil rights and it will shortly be included in a future agenda and recommended for approval," the spokesman said.