(Adds Mepa statement)

Old villas were part of the island's cultural heritage and should never be exposed to planning applications for development, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar's Astrid Vella said this afternoon.

Addressing a news conference outside Villa Chappelle, Ms Vella said that these villas were accompanied by large gardens, which had the potential to be green open public spaces, but which developers were attempting to transform into blocks of flats.

Ms Vella said that in the case of Villino Chappelle, the Mepa board had, in March last year, refused the application to build 64 flats in its gardens "as the proposal constitutes overdevelopment on site and will be detrimental to the area."

The Villino Chappelle footprint.

But fresh plans had now been submitted for 54 flats and some 90 parking spaces with the proposed development rising to six floors in a four-floor area, completely overwhelming Villino Chappelle and destroying about two thirds of the garden full of mature trees.

"FAA maintains these villas should be protected in their entirety not only for their heritage value but also because they constitute the only green lungs in heavily built-up areas.

"This permit should not even be reconsidered by the Land Tribunal and MEPA should be protecting such villas with their gardens at all costs," she insisted.

Ms Vella also referred to Villa Meckrich in Ghaxaq, for which a development application was to be decided by a Mepa board tomorrow.

MEPA's Heritage Advisor Committee had called for the scheduling of the villa in 2005 and this was repeated in the Local Plan of 2006. But in spite of this, an outline permit was issued in October 2008 in spite of the insistent recommendation to refuse.

MEPA STATEMENT

In a statement this evening, Mepa said that the Villino Chappelle applicant had appealed its decision to turn down the application for development and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal, which was completely independent from Mepa, ordered the applicant to submit fresh drawings in line with several criteria.

Mepa was of the opinion that these drawings were not yet deemed to be conforming to the criteria stipulated in the tribunal's decision and it considered that the use of the basement/semi-basement level as habitable, as well as the penthouse level, as constituting an overdevelopment of the site, in line with its original decision on the application.

On Villa Meckrich, the authority said this had been given a Grade 2 level of protection by Mepa for its architectural and contextual value.