Four farmers this morning filed a judicial protest against MEPA calling on it to revoke a development permit for a famhouse near Chadwick Lakes.

Joseph Azzopardi, Francesco Busuttil, Carmelo Azzopardi and Carmelo Zahra said that they owned land at Wied l-Armla, close to Chadwick Lakes where only agricultural development was allowed.

Alongside their land, a certain Gianfranco Selvaggi was carrying out a development which was originally not covered by the relevant permits. Indeed, an enforcement notice had been issued.

The four said a permit had since been issued for the development in a fraudulent manner, in that the applicant had given misleading information to MEPA.

They said they had called for the permit to be withdrawn but MEPA originally said that everything was in order. The case was then referred to the MEPA auditor who said that the permit should never have been issued and should be revoked.

Yet MEPA had actually processed a second application for the development, linked to the first.

In November 2008 Mr Selvaggi's position was regularised by MEPA in what, the four said, was a shameful manner.

They also pointed out that farmers had filed a petition, complaining that a simple room should not be converted into a villa farmhouse.

They therefore asked MEPA to revoke the development permit.