Access denied to Mellieħa beauty spot

Mellieħa is being promoted as a European Destination of Excellence.

The government has issued an Emergency Conservation Order to protect the access by the Maltese public and tourists to a panoramic inland cliff on the Mellieħa Heights. This Conservation Order specifically states that "any future development, alterations or interventions" within this zone "shall require written prior approval of the Planning Authority." In pursuance of this Conservation Order, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has always rejected all applications for the erection of a wall that would deny access to this beautiful inland cliff area.

Mepa's efforts to conserve this zone have been nullified by the Department of Land, on its own initiative sending in heavy earth-moving equipment to bulldoze away the ramp giving sole access to the 100-year-old wide path cut in solid rock. Farmers trying to continue to use this traditional path are being taken to court and sentenced for trespassing. Presumably, the same fate awaits any tourist or rambler trying to approach the cliff.

Can the department assure the public that it requested and obtained Mepa's prior approval for its "alteration and intervention" in an area protected by a Conservation Order? Did Mepa give its approval or is the law applied only against the small fry?