Rape of Ta' l-Ibrag is next

After Sliema was ravished in the "boom years" of the early 1960s, the senseless destruction caught up with Balluta, St Julians, Paceville and of course poor Swieqi. Now it is the turn of Ta' l-Ibrag.

All this thanks to the various planning bodies which went under different names under different governments. This was all done to accommodate the speculators and keep the building industry going. Or was it for progress' sake?

I live in a ground floor maisonette in Ibrag. Our area is a true example of building ethics. All adjacent streets are lined with two-storey buildings, creating harmony in a built environment. Not for long. My so-called neighbour, who owns the first floor maisonette and doesn't live in it but rents it out, has decided to build another floor and a penthouse, which unfortunately lies above my ground floor maisonette. Mepa refused his first application, but three weeks later he was granted permission after some "adjustments" to his original plan. So my house will now look like a flat, which means a drop in property value, and up go my unwanted expenses involving lawyers and architects in order to protect my rights.

I invite Mepa and the Ministry of the Environment to call on me when this work of art is completed - a four-storey building in the middle of two-storey houses lining the street.

It will surely stick out like a lonely sentinel against the sky.

Congratulations guys. Keep the speculators happy while we, individual citizens, bear the brunt.