The Mepa enforcement unit has removed illegally-built structures in a number of localities, the Authority said this morning.
The buildings were in sensitive areas outside development zones in Wardija, Qala and Mtarfa as well as at sites that were causing an inconvenience to residents living in adjacent properties.
"These direct action operations come a few days before the new law will come into effect which will remove the possibility for illegal development carried out in ODZ or protected areas after May 2008 or on scheduled property to be regularized by the Authority," Mepa said.
In Wardija, the Authority removed an illegal boundary wall, a track and substantial amounts of illegally dumped construction material and inert waste that had been placed over garigue stretches. After the Authority started the operation, the owner of the site agreed to remove all the remaining illegal material under MEPA’s supervision.
The enforcement personnel of MEPA also demolished an illegal structure that was being constructed with concrete bricks, it what looked like an intentional boathouse in Dahlet il-Qorrot Bay in Qala. The Authority also removed a large metal gate and a concrete platform. In the picturesque valley between Rabat and Mtarfa, MEPA sealed off the entrances to a site where illegal material had been illegal dumped.
Follow complaints by the Birzebbuga local council, the Authority also cleared a large site in Triq il-Qajjenza Birzebbuga, opposite the seashore, which for a number of years had been left abandoned with large quantities of illegally dumped construction waste and other inert material. This site was downgrading the open space area and causing an inconvenience to the residents living nearby.
In Birkirkara and Zebbug, illegal use of two large garages for commercial purposes was stopped. The Authority walled off part of the garage entrances to only allow the use of the garages for parking cars and not for commercial storage of a large vehicle, while in Zebbug the Authority sealed off the electrical supply of a garage which was illegally being used as an extension by a confectioner as storage and cold room facilities. The equipment in this facility was generating high noise levels to the detriment of the residents in the area. .