Mepa chairman Vince Cassar insisted today that the authority had acted correctly in its consideration of an application to develop a seven-storey apartment block in Żbibu Lane in San Ġwann.
Reacting to a press conference given on Saturday, Mr Cassar insisted that Mepa had sent objector Stephen Saliba a notification giving him 30 days to appeal the permit and had therefore not denied him his right to appeal, as claimed.
Mr Cassar said that prior to issuing the permit, Mepa consulted the Superintendence of National Heritage which said that a 200-year-old farmhouse and rubble walls on the site had no historical value and could be demolished.
Ancient cart ruts and a wartime shelter will be preserved.