PL questions Mepa over Baħrija works

The Labour Party questioned whether the planning authority was monitoring ongoing works on the controversial Baħrija farmhouse belonging to former Nationalist Party president Victor Scerri.

Last week the Ramblers' Association said works on the farmhouse had recently resumed on the environmentally sensitive area after a permit was withdrawn in August.

A permit for an extension was deemed to be illegal as an environment screening process had been ignored. However, the original building permit for the farmhouse remained valid because it was granted before the screening process was introduced.

Dr Scerri had told The Times there was nothing abusive about the works the association was alleging were improper: "It's not their business what I do on my land with valid permits. All the works that have been carried out, even in the past, were according to valid permits."

Labour spokesman on planning Roderick Galdes yesterday noted that despite the fact that the original permit still stood, there was an obligation to ensure the area's ecological importance was safeguarded.

The valley where the farmhouse was located was meant to be protected and it was the duty of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to keep an eye on it.

"As the Labour Party suspected months ago, in this case works were allowed to go on with the blessing of the authority... This is a typical case where Mepa and the government were heavy-handed with the weak and weak with the strong," he said.

The Baħrija development had sparked a controversy before the European Parliament elections in June and subsequently led to Dr Scerri's resignation. He had insisted he wanted to defend his case as a private citizen without dragging the party into the controversy.