Graffitti tells PA: ‘Remove illegal parking before considering Wied Babu villas’

Moviment Graffitti is calling on the Planning Authority to suspend any decision on the proposed development of 12 bungalows with pools instead of the Garden of Eden wedding hall complex until a 4900 sq.m illegal parking is reinstated back to its original garigue state.

The PA is scheduled to take a decision on the controversial project tomorrow after the case officer recommended approval based on the rural policy, which permits the redevelopment of existing legal buildings if the replacement building represents an improvement over the existing state.

A parallel planning application for the reinstatement of the illegal parking to its natural state was originally slated for approval by the case officer to ensure that the illegality is removed before any decision is taken on the bungalows. ERA had also insisted that the rehabilitation of the parking area takes place before the decision on the tourist development.

But subsequently, the Planning Commission accepted a request by Garden of Eden owner Maurizio Baldacchino to postpone a decision on the restoration back to the original garigue of an illegally built 4,900sq.m car park, opposite the wedding hall. 

“The proposal to develop a tourist complex in a Natura 2000 site like Wied Babu is already of great concern, and the activists are calling on the authorities not to take advantage of flawed policies to give free rein to the developers”. Graffitti said.

Moreover, Moviment Graffitti expressed its concern on the development of a tourist complex in a Natura 2000 site and an Area of Ecological Importance like Wied Babu. “The development of 12 bungalows will see an increase in activity that will no doubt have a negative impact on the sensitive ecosystem of the valley.”

Moreover, the activists warned that greenlighting such a development in Wied Babu and the commitment of the area for touristic use run the risk of creating a very ugly precedent for future similar developments, threatening and disrupting the integrity of the valley in the process”.

Moviment Graffitti also questioned the legality of the existing development.

The legality of the existing structures was certified by former PA Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg, in a letter sent to the owners in May 2014. In his letter, Buttigieg states that, following verifications of court procedures and legal advice, “the authority cannot state that the premises in question are illegal or that illegalities exist on site”.

In fact, documents submitted to the PA show that back in 1990 the authorities mysteriously withdrew an appeal against a court sentence that absolved the owners of conducting illegal work – after presenting it against the wrong person.

“Although the ex-Planning Authority chairman Johann Buttigieg had assured us of the legality of the Garden of Eden site, it is clear that the development of this site was plagued by illegalities from the very start”.