Measures to make vacant sites safer

The Local Councils Association, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority are working to reduce the inconvenience caused by badly-used vacant sites within urban areas, Mepa said yesterday.

As from Monday, Mepa will be receiving directions from local councils as to which sites will be issued an enforcement notice if not adequately walled off.

For the past weeks, Mepa said, the three partners have carried out a nation-wide awareness campaign in order to give property owners the chance to check with their local council whether or not their vacant site is an environmental or safety hazard.

The following criteria need to be followed when walling off such sites:

• The eight-course boundary wall should be constructed along the official road alignment.

• It should be constructed of limestone or concrete brick material.

• A four-inch concrete capping should be placed above the top course to secure the wall.

• Single walls should have stone pillars constructed to support the wall at two-metre intervals or as advised by the architect overseeing the works.

• The site should be cleaned of any dumped material.

Mepa will only issue an enforcement notice if the local council identifies a site as having negative environmental and safety impacts and which render an area unsightly and potentially hazardous.

Failure to abide by the Mepa notice within three months will result in a fine of Lm50 per metre of frontage subject to a maximum of Lm1,000. In addition, the site owner will have to pay, with interest, for the works the local council would have incurred for the construction of the boundary wall.

No development permits will be issued on such sites if the bills are not settled.