Construction magnate Charles Polidano has resumed an illegal development at his Ħal Farruġ headquarters in recent days, six months after the police were asked to take action over environmental abuse.

Work started again a few days before the election and continued in the past days, in the face of several enforcement notices and direct action in September when the area was sealed off.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority then had also asked the police to initiate criminal action against Polidano Brothers Ltd, which is owned by Charles, iċ-Ċaqnu, and his brother Paul, after they had ignored repeated warnings from the authority.

A spokesman for the authority said enforcement officers had gone to the site to stop works on two occasions and warned that the authority “reserves the right to take any further legal action against the site owner”.

However, this is practically a repetition of what happened in September. The police yesterday failed to say whether charges had been issued on the basis of Mepa’s request.

Attempts to contact Charles Polidano were unsuccessful, while his brother Paul said they had only “cleaned” the site. When it was pointed out to him that photographic comparisons clearly show that concrete was poured onto a large area, he said: “I don’t know, OK, I don’t know. Bye.”

The development is taking place at the back of the company’s headquarters in Ħal Farruġ, all of which was practically built illegally over the past 20 years or so and then sanctioned by the planning authority.

More recently, the brothers illegally extended the back of the headquarters and built two massive outdoor storage depots which were developed through the dumping of tons of rubble onto the fields behind the company.

The contractors also began erecting what looks like a concrete warehouse, over an area of hundreds of square metres of land.

The piles for the warehouse were already in place in September, but over the past few days construction resumed at a steady pace and concrete and rubble started being poured to form the floor.

Mepa had actually sealed off the area when The Times first publicised the illegal development, placing concrete blocks at the entrance of the compound. However, a few months down the line the authority agreed to remove the seals and allow the contractors to take some equipment from the open-air yard.

With access to the area, the contractors moved in bulldozers and other machinery to continue their illegal development.

The work follows a pattern which Polidano Brothers implemented successfully at the Ħal Farruġ site over the years, by which they first extended the site illegally and later sought to sanction the development.

The planning authority has slapped some 15 enforcement notices on the developer since 1991, when work first started there. Nonetheless, the contractors managed to develop a stretch of land in excess of 45,000 square metres that was once classified as Outside Development Zone.

The area, which is perched on a scenic valley, is full of illegal development and dumping, not only by Polidano Brothers.

People familiar with the site speak of several old carob trees having been uprooted, and arable land that over the years has made way for industrial plants and warehouses.

On top of this, safety concerns have been raised about the fact that the Polidano property also houses a gas plant that is located just 140 metres away from a fireworks factory in the area that belongs to the Ta’ l-Istilla Band Club of Luqa.

With the recent illegal development, the boundaries of the depot are less than five metres away from the fireworks factory (the law recommends a safety buffer zone of 183 metres but makes a provision only for residential areas).

In a reaction to the news of Mepa’s enforcement action in September, the authority’s former auditor Joe Falzon had expressed his cynicism, arguing that Mepa lacks the necessary resources to deal with large developers.

Several of his reports, in which he criticised the authority specifically about its failure to rein in Polidano Brothers, remain largely unheeded.

Environmental abuse

1991 – Reports in the press question the legality of works carried out on what will eventually become Polidano Group’s headquarters.

1994 – April, the then Planning Authority issues a stop notice. A previous application for a permit, which according to Mepa’s current records seems to have been first lodged in 1980, starts being processed as PA 6161/94. It was eventually dismissed in 1995.

During this period the developer reportedly bulldozes a large number of carob trees.

1995 – May, the Siġġiewi, Qormi, Luqa and Mqabba councils join together to pressure the developer to clean up the area and restore it to its original state. They also question the fact that Telemalta carried out trenching works to supply the site with a telephone line when the place had no permit. In October, the authority takes Charles Polidano to court for uprooting carob trees.

1996 – June, Polidano Group applies for a permit again, PA2367/96.

1997 – While the application is being processed, the Planning Authority issues a second enforcement notice, for illegal construction of workshops, stores and offices. October 17, the case officer files a report, recommending refusal. The board upholds the recommendation and refuses permission on January 26, 1998. A request for reconsideration by the board is also refused.

2004 – Six years after an appeal is filed by the developer, the appeals board overturns the decision and approves the application. Shortly before the appeals board decision in March 2004, Polidano Brothers applies for an outline development application (PA 1591/04) and consolidation of their existing property at the site amounting to a total of some 45,000 square metres of land, which is outside the development zones. Part of the land includes the plant on the left hand side, which, to date, is not covered by a permit, according to Mepa’s map server.

2004 – Mepa issues an enforcement notice after the company turned part of its land into an open store for heavy vehicles and scrap.

2005 – February, 23, an application is filed for the construction of “an air separation plant”. On May 12, 2005, the Mepa board grants permission.

2006 – Mepa issues an enforcement notice over the illegal dumping taking place at the site.

2006 – Polidano Brothers applies to build “and sanction” part of the proposed extensions and alterations to the existing plant, outside the development zones. In May 2007, they are granted permission.

2009 – The authority slaps Polidano Brothers with an enforcement notice for dumping of inert waste and storing heavy plant machinery and other scrap at the site.

2010 – The company again applies to “part sanction” further extensions and alterations made to the site outside development zones.

2012 – September, Mepa asks the police to take action against Charles Polidano over an illegal development and dumping over a vast area behind his plant. The authority seals off the site.

2013 – March, the developers continue where they left off in September with an illegal development, launched with new works two days before the general election. Mepa says it has sent enforcement officers on two occasions to stop the works.