‘All options open on Armier’ - Falzon

Michael Falzon does not exclude asking squatters to pay a sum of money for each year of illegal occupation but hints that another option being considered is a “completely different development” on the same site

Michael Falzon – ‘various options are being considered’
Michael Falzon – ‘various options are being considered’

The ‘owners’ of the illegal shacks in the Armier shantytown may be asked to pay a sum of money for each year since they started illegally occupying public land.

This is one of the options being considered by the government in its bid to regularise the beach rooms as promised in an agreement signed with the Armier lobby before the 2013 general elections.

A cut off date, probably 1992, will also be established and beach rooms constructed after this date will be demolished.  

But the parliamentary secretary for planning, Michael Falzon, was tight lipped when asked whether the government was entertaining this option, insisting that no agreement has yet been reached and that various options are being considered.

“The discussions (with the ‘owners’) are still ongoing, at this stage no option can be ruled out but we are insisting on a holistic approach to resolve this issue.”

According to Falzon various options have been considered over the past months, including proposals for “a completely different development” in the area presently occupied by the beach rooms.

The option preferred by the previous government was that of rebuilding the beach rooms according to rules set in an action plan issued for public consultation in 2002, which was never approved.

In 2003 the Nationalist government promised Armier lobbyists to transfer 230 tumoli of public land in Armier to the company representing the boathouse ‘owners’, Armier Developments, through “a title of temporary emphyteusis”. 

Only ‘owners’ of beach rooms built before 1992 could benefit from this agreement.

The 230 tumoli were to be leased for 65 years, for Lm157,000 (about €365,000) a year – about a derisory €250 a year for each boathouse ‘owner’. An additional 500 units were to be built for the public.

Subsequently three planning applications for rebuilding the village were presented by the new company formed by the squatters.

Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi reiterated the commitment on the eve of the 2008 general election. He also promised to consult with MEPA on ADL’s pending application six months after being elected. But when consulted former MEPA chairman Austin Walker told the government that three applications presented in 2004 by Armier Developments ran against planning policies, including the proposed Marfa action plan, and could not be approved.

Labour had originally signed an agreement with the squatters’ lobby in 2002, renewed in 2007, which envisioned the building of beach rooms to replace old boat houses, while offering a number of rooms for new users. But the original agreement also states that all beach rooms in a good state should be retained, while those in a bad condition should be rebuilt at the squatters’ expense.