Mepa denies Ramblers' claim over Dwejra

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has denied claims made by the Ramblers’Association earlier today that fines collected from the sanctioning of boathouses in Dwejra are being used for the construction of a cafeteria. It added that earlier this week it stopped the works on the construction as it is investigating if these are following the approved plans.

In its statement the Ramplers' Association claimed that funds collected from fines from the controversial mass sanctioning of boathouses in Dwejra were contributing to further environmental plunder of the landscape of the area, this time in the form of a cafeteria.

"A position of tolerance toward the sanctionings was reluctantly taken by the Association earlier this year when benefits to the environment of the Dwejra Park plan in its entirety appeared to outweigh the disadvantage of accepting the illegal structures. RAM also considered that delicate negotiations to proceed were arrived at with great difficulty before agreement could be secured while further delays could have meant the park would be ditched for lack of EU funding," the ramblers said.

"The Ramblers Association now wishes to make it clear that it has revoked this earlier position and hereby declares itself against all sanctionings of illegal constructions outside the development zone. The Association calls for their immediate removal by direct action as prescribed on paper by MEPA.

"A promise made at ministerial level to stop sanctionings in ODZ will not be forgotten. RAM realises that compromises of this sort are clearly not to be trusted."

Alex Vella, secretary of the Ramblers Association said that irregularities should never be considered for sanctioning as thereby more irregularities are provoked.

"The insult of the offending concrete cafeteria being constructed on the ridge adds to the injury that this heritage site has been made to suffer by the permission of illegal structures, under guise of boathouses. Accordingly RAM reverses its stand on the sanctionings of the unsightly hovels at Dwejra and calls for them to be demolished. Obviously the embryonic concrete monstrosity on the ridge, conceived from these open abuses and in variance with the park plans, must also be aborted right away and the offending concrete removed from site."