The St Julian's Residents Association said this morning it was baffled by and questioned the legality of the decision taken by the planning authority appeals board to grant a permit for further development at Portomaso, originally refused by the Mepa board.

"Mepa has never revoked the original permit conditions imposing protection of the site in question, so it is difficult to understand how the appeals board could overturn the Mepa board's decision."

It said that the disappearance of the protected Wedgefoot Grass, which was now only found in one other place on the island, raised alarm bells and questions which Mepa needed to look into properly if it was to be taken seriously.

"The development of a further 7,500 square meters of virgin land on the shore only continues to gobble up the very few, natural, open spaces left in St Julian's, leaving no open spaces for locals and foreigners alike to enjoy. In addition, the increase in residential units will only contribute to more traffic problems in an area already suffering from serious congestion.

"Furthermore, it seems that the Tumas Fenech Group will never be happy until they've covered every square inch of the Portomaso site in concrete. We wonder what other projects are in the pipeline.

"St Julian's has had its quaint charm destroyed long ago but let us not allow Mepa and greed to destroy the little that's left. The association strongly urges residents and all who believe in quality of life to join Saturday's protest march for the environment in Valletta," it said.