Mepa this morning started demolishing a two-storey building that was being built illegally adjacent to Mosta football ground.The work was stopped after a few hours however, when the courts issued a provision warrant of prohibitory injunction.

The Authority said the demolition was being carried out after the developer defied warnings on a number of occasions. 

It explained that when it was evident that the concrete roofing was being planned, Enforcement Officers stopped the works and ordered the workers off the site together with their crane and vehicles. The architect was also told that works were to stop and roofing was not to take place since no development permit application had ever been submitted.

Yet Mepa Enforcement Officers who went to the site  three days later found workers on site preparing the reinforcement mesh for the roof.  Works were again stopped, and the architect was again advised that the concrete was not to be laid. 

Notwithstanding these warnings, early on Saturday morning the developer and architect went ahead with their planned work and roofed the two storey building with concrete.

"In view of this blatant disregard of enforcement instructions and the Enforcement Order, Mepa today begun to demolish the roof of this building.  Works proceeded until noon, when Mepa was stopped by a prohibitory injunction provisionally issued by the courts," the Authority said.

"Following the Mepa Reform, the sanctioning of this large two-storey structure in an ODZ area is now not possible. The developer will have to demolish the entire building for the Authority to even consider accepting the submission of a planning application for any development on this site," Mepa said.