A Sliema woman was shocked to the core when a bulldozer carrying out excavation works at Il-Pjazzetta completely destroyed her back garden.
“I was sitting here, at my kitchen table at lunchtime on Friday and the next thing I know this huge bulldozer starts demolishing the garden’s outer wall,” said the 58-year-old woman, who did not wish to be named.
She said that, initially, she thought the workers would stop once her yard’s outer wall was down, something she knew would be happening soon after being informed the wall was not safe. However, she was in for quite a surprise.
Her three-storey townhouse is adjacent to Sliema’s old naval clinic, where development works are in progress. The project was approved in 2014 and will include an eight-storey complex containing offices, retail outlets, apartments and underlying garages.
It was terrifying. I saw the bulldozer right under my window
Controversy has for years overshadowed the project, with residents and heritage groups raising concerns about possible damage to the underlying air-raid shelter and to an extensive and fragile cave system, including the iconic Għar il-Lembi and Għar id-Dud caves. There have also been complaints about the aesthetic impact of the development, which will protrude from behind the façade of the old naval clinic.
According to the woman, within an hour or so of it appearing, the bulldozer kept on digging and before she could do anything to stop them, the yard had already been destroyed.
“I was informed that the outer wall of the yard had to be demolished because it was not safe but not to this extent. They destroyed the whole garden, right up to the yard door,” she complained.
She then called the police in an attempt to stop the workers, however, by the time the officers arrived at the construction site only a few worn-out tiles remained in place.
While the door to what used to be the backyard is now taped off, just in case she tried to open it out of habit, the woman said not having access to her yard would definitely affect her everyday life.
Among other things, she used the garden to store the gas cylinder feeding her cooker.
“The cylinder will soon run out and I don’t know what I am going to do. I cannot go out to replace it and will have to move the cooker around, install a new pressure regulator and store the cylinder inside,” she said.
While the woman, who lives with her ill brother, has been assured that the yard will be rebuilt at no cost to her, she insisted the ordeal was traumatising and impacted both her daily life as well as her brother’s.
“It was terrifying. I saw the bulldozer right under my window, digging up my yard.
“Now I have to live with this. Every time I look out of my kitchen window I see nothing but debris and a sharp drop.
“I can tolerate everything, the noise, the dust, but I cannot tolerate danger,” the woman said.
While the architect in charge of the development had informed her they would repair the damage soon, she was not given any indication as to when this might be.
The project’s architect, Martin Xuereb, said all standard procedures had been followed and the woman had been informed that the wall would be demolished because it was dangerous.
“I informed the police on Thursday that the wall would be demolished, as per standard practice when third party walls are identified as being dangerous,” he said, adding that it would be rebuilt as agreed.
On the more extensive damage to the yard, Mr Xuereb insisted all standard procedures were followed.
claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com