The owner of a villa in Bahar ic-Caghaq is seeking damages from the planning authority for having refused to grant him a permit to change his villa in a wedding reception venue since 1997. 

Joseph Difesa, 63, is insisting that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had no reason to refuse his application and had failed to introduce a proper policy to regulate such applications. 

As a result, he is now seeking compensation for loss of business over the past 17 years. Sources said the sum he is seeking runs into millions. 

In a judicial protest filed in court this morning, Mr Difesa explained that he first applied for a change of use permit in 1997. The Development Control Commission refused the application and he applied before the Mepa appeals board. 

In its preliminary decision, the Mepa appeals board turned down the authority's arguments, leading the authority to take the matter to the Appeals Court which, in June 2002, again turned down the appeal and ordered that the case is heard again by the Mepa Appeals Board. 

In May 2003, it ruled in Mr Difesa's favour, ordering that a permit be issued under certain conditions. 

The authority once again appealed this decision, claiming that its appeals board went beyond its power. The Appeals Court annulled the decision and sent the case back to the Mepa Appeals Board which, in April 2011, confirmed its original decision and ordered that a permit be issued. The permit was eventually issued earlier this year. 

In his judicial protest, Mr Difesa is claiming that the permit should have been issued and should have never been refused in view of similar reception halls in similar situations. He is holding the authority responsible for negligence and is requesting compensation. 

Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt signed the judicial protest.