You wouldn't know they've been here

The caravan owners given a concession to use the Baħar iċ-Ċaghaq site for the summer left the place earlier this week, leaving it devoid of any litter and earning the release of the €12,000 bank guarantee they had deposited.

In October last year, under a heavy police presence, workers from the Government Property Division and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had evicted the caravan owners from the site, claiming they were not entitled to stay on land which was not designated as a caravan site.

But the Land Department agreed to grant the Safari Camping Club a permit to use the space between June 1 and September 30 this year against strict conditions.

The club was made responsible for the maintenance and cleanliness of the area. It had to deposit a €12,000 bank guarantee which would have been forfeited if there were any infringements.

The club also had to pay a €40,000 encroachment fee for the use of the land for the three-month period. One of the conditions was that a maximum of 114 mobile caravans could occupy the site, down from the 250 in previous years.

There was considerable scep-ticism when the government allowed campers to return to Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, which they had occupied for many years, with most constructing permanent structures of wood and stone.

But Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi said the way caravan owners left the site showed the firm hand used had left the desired results and was a "far cry" from what used to happen in previous years.

"We were strong-handed and gave the caravan owners a take-it-or-leave-it temporary agreement, for which they had to deposit a bank guarantee. As the Italian saying goes, patti chiari, amicizia lungha. They respected the agreement and I am very happy about this. We showed assertiveness, equity and fairness. They understood our warning that we would not accept any illegalities and the mayhem which used to reign there in previous years," Dr Azzopardi said.

He said Land Department enforcement officers carried out bi-weekly spot checks to ensure the strict conditions imposed on the caravan owners were being respected.

Dr Azzopardi praised the Safari Camping Club committee for sticking to their side of the deal.

Club secretary Attilio Montebello said: "We gave them the site back as they gave it to us. The conditions imposed helped us a lot and the club imposed them on individual members, who had to sign a contract with the club before setting up their caravan there for summer. Before it was a free-for-all but now we were regulated."

Mr Montebello said the bank guarantee imposed on the club also helped it ensure conditions were respected. The club even took photos before individual caravans were set up so as to have documentation of what the site was like before.

Asked whether a similar concession would be given next summer, Dr Azzopardi was non-committal, especially because of two applications the government has before Mepa to construct two caravan sites in the north and south.

Mr Montebello said they were curious to know what would happen to the site if permits for a permanent caravan site were issued.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com