Wied Qirda 'scar' being removed by Planning Authority in direct action operation

A ‘scar’, which, according to the planning authority, has “plagued the picturesque valley of Wied Qirda, limits of Siggiewi”, has finally started to heal as enforcement officers moved in with heavy machinery, to begin the process of “removing the illegality”.

The section of the valley known as Tal-Bilbli covers an area of 25,000m2, is “shrouded with extensive pockets of dumped construction waste”, they said. Due to the “extent of the illegality and sensitivity of the site”, the operation is likely to take days, with “70 truck loads” of dumped material having already been removed from the site.

The planning authority said that this was the second time a direct action was carried out on the site, after their patience with the land owner had “ran out”.

“Last November, the authority had started removing tons of inert material, which had illegally been dumped on this site area as early as 2005”, they said.

Despite the contravener having agreed to remove all the dumped material within an agreed timeframe, the authority noticed that not only was the waste material not being removed, but it was “starting to increase again”.

The contravener is currently being charged a daily fine of €50, as the Planning authority vows to have the site “returned to its original state”.