Two private gardens in Għaxaq will remain protected despite calls for parts of the grounds to be turned into apartment blocks.

The gardens, one attached to Villa Mekrech and another to Palazzo Giannin, were included in the protected properties list earlier this year after the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee insisted they were typical examples of baroque gardens. However, permits to build there had been issued previously.

The Mekrech Villa garden is split up between five different owners, including one who has a full permit for development.

The owners of the Villa Giannin grounds, on the other hand, have an outline permit for the development of 45 apartments split between five buildings.

Yet, despite the permits, the board of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday unanimously voted in favour of maintaining the protected status of both gardens, to the chagrin of some and the delight of others.

David Zammit, who owns part of the garden attached to Villa Mekrech, accused the planning authority of double standards.

He said his patch was surrounded by properties, one of which was closer than the statutory 10 feet from his land.

He insisted that an adjacent apartment block and the poor state of parts of the garden that belonged to other owners meant that he had practically abandoned his land: “This is like having a vintage car with only three wheels. I can’t enjoy it as I would a new car so I want to be able to get something out of it.”

Another applicant insisted his plot, which forms part of the same garden’s buffer zone, had no architectural or natural features and had already been granted a full permit for a two storey apartment block.

Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar spokesman Antonio Anastasi wanted to present the board with a petition signed by about 850 objectors.

He said the signature were collected in less than five days. The board, however, did not accept it, noting it was now too late.

Mr Anastasi said several trees in the Palazzo Giannin garden were about 250 years old.

The Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee, however, described these as “alien species” and recommended that if the development were approved they should be destroyed.

The planning authority is expected to decide on the proposed descheduling of a similar garden in Alexandra Street, Qormi today.