The Siġġiewi local council is set to take the government to court in a bid to acquire full possession of the town’s civic centre, after the encroachment permit for the Labour Party club on the premises was extended by another year.

The property, rented to the Siġġiewi local council in 1994, includes an adjacent building which has been used by the PL club for the last five years.

However, an encroachment permit allowing the party to keep using the building was recently extended to August 18 next year.

Siġġiewi mayor Karol Aquilina has said the council was kept in the dark about the matter.

In a statement issued yesterday, Dr Aquilina said the government had acted in a “secretive, illegal and abusive manner” in giving the property to the Labour Party when by law it belonged to the local council and the community of Siġġiewi.

The council said the decision to take the matter to court was taken in the context of works being done on the second phase of the civic centre project. The project includes a night centre for the elderly, space for educational courses and a public library.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, however, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat denied that there been any secrecy in the agreement to retain the premises. “This is a clear contract,” he said. “The Labour Party reached an agreement with the previous government for the use of the premises. All this government did was renew that agreement, with the fee raised to reflect inflation.”

Dr Muscat accused the Nationalist Party of “political vindictiveness” in trying to force the PL out of its club.

Asked whether the government would not rather see a civic centre than a political club, Dr Muscat said a civic centre already existed on site.

The Siġġiewi council’s decision to take legal action was approved by a majority on Tuesday after the four PN councillors voted in favour and two PL councillors voted against, with a third absent.