The informal gardens of Villa Mekrech in Ghaxaq have been scheduled by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority last week, Flimkien Ghal Ambjient Ahjar announced this morning.

Speaking during a press conference in the gardens, Astrid Vella, of FAA, said the scheduling was approved last week and protected the informal gardens of the villa. The planning authority also scheduled the gardens of another property in Ghaxaq – Villino Giannini.

The villa came under the media spotlight after the planning authority recently granted a full development permit for three blocks of two-storey flats in part of the informal gardens surrounding Villa Mekrech. The villa and its formal gardens were listed on FAA’s insistence, but the scheduling left out the area covered by an outline permit dating from 2008.

Josianne Zahra, one of four owners of the informal gardens, expressed satisfaction at the scheduling. Gardens were few in Malta but there were many apartments so it was important to take care of what was left, she said.