A cow farm in the limits of Rabat has been illegally transformed into a boatyard, the Planning Authority has confirmed, sparking farmers’ fears that the move puts their animals in danger.
A spokesman for the PA said that while the authority had first received complaints about the farm in August, at the time no illegalities were noted.
However, a second complaint in recent weeks confirmed that the farm has now been transformed into a boatyard.
“The contravener has been instructed to cease the illegal use with immediate effect and relocate the boats to an authorised site,” the PA spokesman told this newspaper.
“Failure to comply with the authority’s instructions will result in formal enforcement action, which will most likely constitute the imposition of daily penalties,” he added.
Why are the authorities dragging their feet? Are they waiting for some accident before ordering the removal of the boats?
Despite this, during an on-site visit to the farm in recent days, Times of Malta found that several large yachts were still being housed at the site, just metres from a nearby farm that holds some 400 cows used for the production of milk.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Kristinu Azzopardi, who owns the farm next door to the one turned into a boatyard, expressed concern that the illegalities may result in an accident that could destroy a family business which he has built over the past 50 years.
Mr Azzopardi, whose sister is married to the owner of the farm that has been turned into a boatyard, said that since it is illegal, the boatyard was not subject to any checks by the authorities.
“Farms are not designed to house boats and now I’m living in constant fear that if something goes wrong, say a fire breaks out, my farm will be destroyed.
“My entire family works here, tending to more than 400 cows, and we have invested millions of euros to have a facility that is of the highest standards,” Mr Azzopardi lamented.
He insisted that despite making several complaints to the PA, at one point even contacting the Prime Minister via e-mail in what he described as a last-ditch attempt to highlight the issue, no action had yet been taken and now that the weather had started to cool down, the number of boats brought into the farm was increasing steadily.
Mr Azzopardi said that apart from living in constant fear for his family’s livelihood, since they all make a living by working at the dairy farm, he was also concerned that the issue will likely go on without any action taken.
“Why are the authorities dragging their feet? Are they waiting for some accident before ordering the removal of the boats? It’s ridiculous,” Mr Azzopardi said, telling this newspaper that the farm owners had attempted to intimidate him recently by ganging up on him and beating him until he was flat on the ground.
According to Mr Azzopardi, the beating by the farm owners, who are father and son, resulted in him suffering a fracture in his left arm and a black eye.
“The beating hurt but that’s still not my main concern. I only worry about my family not being able to earn a living because of something that is illegal. I have no problem with the farm being transformed but only if everything is done legally and subject to checks by the authorities,” Mr Azzopardi said.
An attempt to contact the owners of the farm being used as a boatyard proved futile.