An application for the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction in relation to construction works at Portomaso was yesterday dismissed by the courts on the grounds that it was premature.

Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia ruled that the application, which was aimed at prohibiting the Planning Authority from processing an application for further development of the Portomaso Complex, could not be upheld because the applicants, who were Portomaso residents, had other remedies available to them at law.

The court heard that the applicants were basing their claim on the basis that Mepa had originally stipulated that a part of the Portomaso Complex could never be developed.

However, this stipulation had been issued prior to the 2006 Structure Plan, which provided for development.

Furthermore, Mepa's stipulation had been issued in four permits, while other more numerous permits had not contained this stipulation.

Mr Justice Valenzia added that the applicants were entitled to contest the application at Mepa and even, eventually, to file an appeal on a point of law, to the courts.

The court held that applicants' claim for a warrant of prohibitory injunction was unfounded.