Hundreds of trucks loaded with rubble are breaching the conditions of a planning authority permit by hurtling through the village centre of the peaceful Gozitan village of Kerċem and an area of scenic beauty at San Raflu on their way to a nearby quarry.

Residents who contacted The Sunday Times said their villages were transformed from peaceful and quiet locations to ones where hundreds of overloaded trucks "thunder" past their doors through narrow streets.

"We are seeing as many as 20 trucks an hour, driving dangerously down the street at excessive speed," one woman said.

Apart from the nuisance, the residents also complained about the dust and rubble that flew out of the trucks which "were covered by scraps of netting".

The trucks, transporting construction waste to a quarry at Ta' Xrajjaħ, San Lawrenz, are not permitted to pass through the main roads in Sta Luċija and Kerċem and should instead use side roads as an alternative route.

This route was a condition - imposed collectively by the Kerċem council, the transport authority and the planning authority - tied to a 2009 permit to refill the quarry.

The condition listed two uni-directional routes to be used by full and empty trucks respectively and specified that "no access (for loaded trucks) in the direction to Sta Luċija will be permitted for all vehicles except for Sta Luċija residents and surrounding farmers".

Ta' Spiteri Road, also listed as one of the alternative routes, had to be improved, according to the permit.

The permit was also issued against a number of conditions which included dust reduction measures when the trucks exit the site, covering the trucks when full, and filling the quarry between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

When contacted, Kerċem mayor Joseph Grima said he had received many complaints from residents and described the situation as a "disgrace".

The frequency of the trucks shot up because of two major developments in Gozo - one in Marsalforn and the reconstruction of the Mġarr Hotel.

"The road trembles when they go past and they drive in a dangerous manner," he said. Also, the trucks were making it impossible for families and tourists to enjoy walks in one of Gozo's most beautiful areas.

Mr Grima has made a formal complaint to the planning authority in an e-mail dated January 27 saying that truck drivers were not using the route specified in the permit.

The trucks were causing "irreparable damage to the streets" of Kerċem, creating a health hazard and driving dangerously, the council said.

In a second e-mail, the council emphasised that the route had been discussed and agreed upon by Mepa, the council and the transport authority, and requested a meeting.

In fact, the planning authority and the council are trying to set a date for a meeting, Mr Grima said.

Meanwhile, in a separate e-mail, the council asked the transport authority for two traffic signs to bar entry to heavy vehicles in Kerċem. But they were informed in a letter, dated February 2, by the newly established Transport Malta, that one of the routes was in need of repair and were not "considered as an adequate alternative route" for heavy vehicles. It said the present route passing through San Raflu, Triq L-Għadira and Sta Luċija was "adequate".

But the council insisted the route was agreed upon by three entities in 2008, and it could not understand why Transport Malta could not approve a decision taken 18 months ago.