Labour challenges Mepa over illegal scrapyard

Labour yesterday questioned the planning authority’s transparency about illegal work allegedly going on at a Birżebbuġa scrapyard that had been sealed off three years ago.

Ta’ Gasparell scrapyard, situated 300 metres away from Borġ in-Nadur and Għar Dalam, was closed down by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in April 2009. A year later, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said the scrapyard overlooking Wied Żembaq was still operating.

Labour spokesman Leo Brincat said Mepa still received reports of illegal use of the yard.

However, when contacted, a Mepa spokesman said it has been more than a year since it last received complaints or reports about the scrapyard.

In 2010, FAA had said Mepa did not monitor the site regularly and failed to notice that the owner often removed the large concrete blocks placed by the environment watchdog to seal off the site and put them back in place in the evening.

The environmental organisation had also said that heavy plant vehicles were frequently driven out of the “sealed gate” indicating the owner had reversed Mepa’s legiti-mate action. Since then, FAA did not receive further reports of abuse.

The Mepa spokesman said the scrapyard operator was bound by the enforcement notice to remove material from the site and to vacate the illegal yard. Reiterating his colleague’s enquiries, Roderick Galdes said the scrapyard, which was opened in 1993, was one of the area’s “wounds” and even if it were not in use, the material was still on site, blotting the environment.

Labour also questioned one of the scrapyard owners’ link to an ongoing court case in which four men were charged with defrauding Transport Malta on several road contracts over the past two years.

Godfrey Cutajar allegedly accepted inflated cheques in return for fictitious sales of scrap metal, cashed them and gave the money to Gordon Zammit and George-Oliver Schembri.