The government has expropriated a site where the planning authority recently issued a planning permit for a villa, metres away from Mġarr’s Ta’ Haġrat temples.

Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon told Parliament this evening that he had met the owners, the expropriation agreement was signed and the requested compensation was to be given.

Dr Falzon, who was replying to questions by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, said that although the amount to be paid had not yet been crystallised, the government was guided by the amount that had been declared on the promise of sale.

The development had originally been objected to by environment NGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar. The Opposition then filed a motion urging the expropriation of the land and compensation for the owners. The decision to allow development close to the Unesco-protected Ta’ Ħaġrat temples in Mġarr had also been lambasted by PL deputy leader Toni Abela.

The contested permit was for a villa development of 867 square metres on a plot inside the buffer zone surrounding the temples.

The land had been included in the development zone for Mġarr during the so-called rationalisation exercise which took place in 2006. Then, in 2009, Mepa refused a permit, partly on the grounds that the villa would be too close to the temples. However, the permit was issued in September 2013 and confirmed by the planning appeals board.

In its decision, the authority said the permit was in line with existing planning policies.