A developer who plans to build apartments in Wied il-Għasel argued that a traditional corbelled hut (Girna) found in the valley had no historical value.

The permit to build 24 apartments and 26 garages in Mosta's Wied il-Għasel is being contested before the planning authority's appeals board after angry residents and environmental associations filed an appeal to stop the development.

Residents, backed by environmental groups Ħarsien Patrimonju Mosti, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and Nature Trust, are arguing that the planned development is situated in an area listed as a nature reserve within the World Database on Protected Areas managed by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In addition, they hold, the area is classified as a Category III National Monument because of the protected corbelled hut and rubble walls.

But during a planning authority appeals hearing last Friday, the developer, Joseph Micallef, submitted documents to support his argument that the hut did not have any historical value because, among other things, it did not appear in old survey maps.

The residents and environmental organisations will present their counter arguments at the next hearing.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority last February gave the green light to the project on a plot on one side of Wied il-Għasel. The application was originally refused in 2007. However, it was re-submitted, approved and immediately appealed.