The police have arrested a man who this morning tried to stop Mepa workers from clearing illegal development on a site at Triq ir-Raddiena in Wied Qoton, Birzebbuga. The area is outside a development zone.

A Mepa spokesman said this was a three-day operation to clear illegal structures on agricultural land. The structures included rooms used to store construction material . Bowsers and other heavy equipment also used to be kept there.

The spokesman said a stop and enforcement notice was issued by Mepa in 1997 to protect the agricultural land. Since then the land had been rented to somebody else and the rooms were built some time after 1997.

The owner of the land said he had not been aware of an existing enforcement notice and said he was only aware of the notice issued in 1997 against the former tenant of the land.

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