Labour leader Alfred Sant was this afternoon denied access to the Magħtab waste facility by security officers who said he needed a Wastserv permit to be allowed in.

Dr Sant and an MLP delegation went to Magħtab on what was described as being an "investigative mission" to see if the Magħtab dump was still open and to see if trees were really growing there.

The MLP delegation pointed to trucks going in and out of the facility, saying it showed that Magħtab was still fully operational as a dump. They also took journalists to the coast road and pointed to recently planted trees which appear dead, saying that Dr Gonzi had, even before the election, broken an election promise that trees would grow at Magħtab.

Dr Sant also referred to his comment yesterday that a golf course would be sited at Maghtab. He said that a technical study on a golf course at Magħtab would be conducted after the election according to parameters set by the private sector. He said the gradients could be altered according to the golf course requirements.

The government in a reaction said it had nothing to hide at Maghtab and open days had been held on the site. Dr Sant had also been invited to visit, but had declined.

The Environment Ministry said that Dr Sant in a matter of a few seconds had said that the Maghtab dump was still open, that trees were dying, and that he wanted to set up a golf course there.

The ministry said it had Dr Sant who had been against the closure of the dump. The site had, however been closed, and the trucks which the MLP delegation had seen were actually going to the nearby engineered landfill, which uses the same entrance. Those trucks were carrying clay to be used as a base.

The ministry said most of the 2,000 recently planted trees at Maghtab were doing well. That some trees had problems was expected, given the environment of the site and the recent storm, but those problems were under control. However, this criticism that trees were not growing contrasted with Dr Sant's proposal to build a golf course there.

Wastserv in a later statement said the Maghtab Waste Management Complex is a controlled facility and WasteServ Malta Ltd’s permit regulating its operations demands strict authorisation for anybody entering the site, in order to avoid safety hazards during periods of operation.

"WasteServ has organised Open Days for the public in the recent past and has also coordinated scheduled press activities, always after receiving requests in advance, so as the necessary precautionary measures can be taken, in the interests of safety."