Mepa application should be resubmitted

Residents at Tigné seafront have welcomed the recent enforcement action taken by Mepa to remove the illegal awnings/canopies in front of some apartments, restoring the façades of the premises to their original state.

However, it is surprising that not all awnings/canopies on the seafront have been removed.

There are two very large awnings/canopies in particular sticking out of one façade, covering the pavement and two parking bays.

These are also blocking the entrance to our apartments, depriving us of the space required to gain access to our property for basic emergency services, and causing difficulty to pedestrians and persons with disability - those on crutches or on wheelchairs - attempting to walk along or cross the pavement and parking bays.

It is strange how the current regulations were not enforced with regard to these awnings/canopies, since, although being included in the relevant drawings submitted to Mepa (Ref. PA 7777/06), the application does not include a request to sanction these existing awnings/ canopies, which were fixed in front of the cafeteria before the application was submitted to Mepa.

If Mepa is considering sanctioning such awnings/canopies, then the relevant notices should be issued afresh providing the correct description of the proposed development and giving the public the opportunity to evaluate, comment or object to the proposed development as is usually done in all other applications.

Furthermore, urgent action should also be taken by the authorities to enforce the law for this most basic notion, as undertaken by the recent Mepa enforcement action in the same area.