The migrants’ open centre in the limits of Ħal Far did not have a development permit and the mandatory environmental impact assessment was not held, the Ombuds-man found.

The Ombudsman looked into the matter last year following a complaint by the owner of a neighbouring wedding hall. The businessman had said the “eyesore” shanty town was built illegally along the only road leading to his establishment and was deterring clients. This, he said, had resulted in a “considerable loss of business”.

In his annual report, the Ombudsman largely upheld the complaints and suggested the government consider financial compensation similar to that given to former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. The late Mr Mintoff had been awarded more than €500,000 back in 2006 after a power station was built close to his Delimara home.

The Ombudsman said there was no improvement in the sporadic police presence in the area and the limited planning authority action was a long way from finalisation.

Last year, the planning authority ensured that an application for a permit to sanction the area was filed. The Ombudsman has since raised the issue with the Prime Minister, insisting the lack of proper controls in the area was damaging the complainant’s business.

The businessman did not dispute the need to maintain access to the centre or the need to integrate the migrants within the local community. He did, however, insist that this should not come at the cost of others’ rights.

The centre is situated along a country lane off the arterial Birżebbuġa Road and is home to more than 300 migrants.

In 2010, a migrant corpse was found half buried in the fields between the open centre and the wedding venue. In his report, the Ombudsman made repeated mention of the need for increased police presence and regular patrols in the area.

In his submission to the Ombudsman, the entrepreneur made four proposals on how the situation could be improved. These included the narrowing of the main gate of the open centre and its use solely for administrative functions; the opening of a small gate on the south side of the centre, next to the container storage depot, to provide easier access to migrants; an alternative place to accommodate hawkers who set up stalls around the area; and the erection of hoarding along the existing fence to protect the privacy of residents.

The Ombudsman expressed concern regarding any proposals that would restrict migrants’ access to and from the centre. He agreed that hawkers should not be allowed to converge on the main gate but disagreed with the proposals of a hoarding noting this would serve to segregate the inhabitants from the rest of Maltese society.

Questions on the matter sent to the planning authority remained unanswered at the time of writing.