Residents complained the building, owned by a band club, was being used as an open-air venue for discos.

An error when identifying in which zone a building belonged meant that it could be turned into an open air venue by the band club which bought it.

The Commissioner for Environment and Planning wrote in the recently published case notes that some residents had written to him to complain about the structural extension to the club, the location of which was not revealed.

The Mepa directorate report referred to the purchased building as being within “the Local Centre and the Urban Conservation Zone”, which the Commissioner said was a mistake.

“While it was correct to say that the club premises lay in the local centre, the building where the extension was to be carried out… lay in another zone,” he wrote, adding that according to the map’s classification, it lay in a residential area.

He said this mistake meant that the case qualified for repeal under Article 77 of the Planning Act.

However, the recommendation was rejected by the Mepa board as it felt there was no justification for the withdrawal of the permit.

Building bought specifically with demolition in mind

The building, which lies behind the band club, had been bought specifically with demolition in mind.

The residents complained that it was being used as an open-air venue for discos – with music up to 1.30am during the village feast, parties, tombola and even screenings, and that access was via an alley which was suitable “for use by a few residents and not for access by the masses”.

“We have witnessed dirt, the use of the alley as a latrine, fear of drug abuse and possibility of fighting between drunken persons. This has become the order of the day apart from insults to residents who were considered as being against this ground project,” they complained.

The neighbours have appealed and the case is still pending.