The Birzebbuga Environmental Action Group is appealing the full development permit issued recently for an extension to the Freeport.

Addressing a news conference together with the Local Council, Carmel Cacopardo said that a number of meetings were held between the authority’s boards discussing the application that were not open to the public.

This went against the Development Planning Act which said that the public had to always be allowed to participate.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority had also ignored the provisions of at least three local plan policies that were approved in 1995 for Marsaxlokk Bay.

One such policy was that the area where the extension was going to take place was considered to be a buffer zone sheltering the leisure activities on the seafront from the activities of the Freeport.

With this permit, that buffer zone would decrease by 150 metres and the beach would only be 200 metres away from terminal.

The Mepa board had the discretion to include other uses for this buffer zone, such as for a public open space, which the extension was not.

Mepa also did not assess the impact of the development on the sports activities in the area when the local plan clearly said that a specific study had to be carried out.

Moreover, the extension and the manoeuvring area of the ships would take up the whole zone currently used by the sailing club.

Another policy being breached was that there had to be a number of environmental criteria regarding air, noise and water quality that had to be implemented before any other development permit was issued.

Mr Cacopardo said that Mepa had ignored this policy and established the criteria after this permit was issued.

He said that the Freeport and the local council have started meeting every two months to discuss what measures needed to be in place.

John Grech, another member of the group, said that there was no change in the plans submitted by the Freeport for the extension between the first board hearing in Feb 2009 and June 2010, when the permit was given.

So he could not understand how the chairman had been in a position to take a position last month when this had not been the case in February last year.

The group is also contesting the dredging of the bay, which was a separate permit, because it would further contaminate the bay.

Since the Freeport would be building submerged breakwaters, the bay, which was already dead, would become even more stagnant.

The group said it was calling on the Freeport to carry out extension on the outer side and not on inner side so as not to hinder other activities in the locality.