Action against scrap yard welcomed

Two environment lobby groups, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Ramblers Association, have welcomed the planning authority's direct action to seal off the Ta' Gasparell scrap yard in Birżebbuġa.

FAA coordinator Astrid Vella said neighbours had to put up with decades of dirt, air polluted by grit and constant noise because of this scrap yard.

She said the action of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority offered residents hope that the full dismantling of the abusive scrap yard could finally be in sight.

She praised Mepa for not waiting for the conclusion of the appeal before taking action as the case had been dragging for 14 years.

During this time, she said, the scrap yard continued to grow and even benefitted from government contracts while encroaching on potentially rich archaeological ground near Borg in-Nadur and Għar Dalam.

Ramblers' secretary Alex Vella said similar measures were sorely needed to make the Maltese countryside more attractive to locals and foreigners.

"For far too long, scrap and other yards and quarries have been allowed to tarnish the Maltese countryside with impunity," he said.

There were other yards that needed to be cleared, he said, including the ones along the road leading to Birżebbuġa, along the Burmarrad-to-St Paul's Bay main road, at Mġarr near the parish church and at Ta' Qali near the Crafts Village.