Environmental NGOs are angry that the planning authority has approved plans to build 20 houses on a hillside below Madliena near the Victoria Lines.

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and the Ramblers’ Association claimed Mepa had accepted “blood money” for allowing the development, as the project leaders were charged a fee to offset the impact on the environment.

The NGOs said the project was originally refused in 2009 for contravening planning policies, but then approved in 2010.

The most recent Mepa hearing on Thursday sanctioned building work that has already begun along the historical fortifications.

Mepa board chairman Franco Montesin dismissed the NGOs’ requests to delay a decision for a week for a site visit or to have the area assessed by an architect.

FAA said in a statement: “The fact that the developer has to paya sum in compensation for theproject’s negative impact is no more than blood money for the destruction of our fortifications and rural heritage.”