Public access to a medieval settlement in Simblija, limits of Dingli, has been restored after the government reclaimed the lease from a man who had for years claimed private ownership of the site.
A Grade 2 scheduled national monument, the medieval hamlet includes caves, structures dating back to the Knights of St John and a derelict chapel, and was the subject of an extensive EU-funded restoration project in 2003.
It is part of a wider area of agricultural fields and pathways that were leased out by the government since 1993 as one tenement split between nine farmers.
However, ramblers and farmers have for years been embroiled in a saga with another farmer in the area, Noel Ciantar, who claimed the area was private property and repeatedly blocked access, occasionally prompting clashes with people seeking to visit.
Explanatory maps and panels installed after the site restoration disappeared, and private property signs and warning letters appeared in their place.
Mr Ciantar has consistently maintained that his family has a legal title to the land and that the restoration project was carried out in full respect of his ownership rights, with no intention to grant public access.
The Times of Malta is informed Environment Minister José Herrera wrote to the Lands Authority in January asking for the heritage site, and the pathways leading to it, to be extrapolated from the lease in view of its historical and environmental value.
Other farmers in the area had requested this extrapolation back in 2016, along with the renegotiation of the lease on the remaining area.
This process was completed at the end of May, when the heritage site formally became public land, a move intended to ensure access.
Additionally, an Environment Ministry spokesman said that discussions were under way between the government and the Ramblers Association over the possibility of a guardianship agreement for the site.
Ramblers Association president Alex Vella said the NGO was keen to ensure that the site received the attention and recognition it deserved, and that the public was no longer denied access.
“We have argued for a long time that it was unacceptable for one person to render Simblija out of bounds after so much government and EU funding was spent to bring it to public cognizance,” Mr Vella said.
“This is a remote and beautiful area. Books have been written about it, but for years anyone trying to visit, including tourists, have encountered difficulties.
“After years of effort, the government has recognised that this situation could not go on, said the Ramblers president.”