Members of Moviment Graffitti chained themselves to the gates of the planning authority's offices in Floriana in a symbolic protest against the issue of permits that "threaten the environment".

About 15 members from the group closed off the entrance to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's offices at about 9 a.m. in an activity that lasted two hours.

"We symbolically closed down Mepa this morning to protest against several permits hat threaten the environment and open spaces," Chris Mizzi said.

Although members of the group who chained themselves to the gates said they were willing to remain there until tomorrow morning if need be, the chains were cut by the police at about 11 a.m.

Displaying posters and a banner with the words A Meeting Of Speculators, the members said Mepa was more included in safeguarding the developers' interests rather than the environment.

During the activity, a person inside the Mepa offices had to leave to go to hospital and the protesters allowed the car carrying the person to driver over the chains.

Police officers took the particulars of all the protesters.

The symbolic protest was very peaceful and the members left almost immediately once the police cut their chains.

The group said it was protesting against permits it felt should not have been granted, such as for the construction of apartments in the Qala belvedere, a supermarket in Safi, the Midi complex in Sliema and a mushroom farm in Għarb.

The promised Mepa reform would not be effective because there was no political will to make it so, the group said. "It doesn't seem as though there is a strong political will to protect the environment," Mr Mizzi said.

Mepa's problem did not lie in its structure but in the way the rules were changed to accommodate different people who had economic or political power, he said.

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