Caravan owners accuse Aħrax campsite operator of illegally occupying public land in judicial protest

A group of caravan owners have filed a judicial protest accusing the private operator of the Aħrax campsite of illegally occupying public land, collecting money it was never entitled to, and running the site in a state of abuse while authorities failed to intervene.

The protest was filed by the Aħrax Camp Site Association together with six individual caravan owners, and is directed against Adventure Camping & Leisure Company Ltd, its director Vincent Vella, the Lands Authority, and the Commissioner of Lands.

The residents argue the company has been operating the Aħrax campsite for years despite having no valid legal title, even though it once held permission to manage the caravan site in the past.

According to the filing, caravan owners had been paying rent to the private operator for their allocated spaces, believing it was duly authorised to collect fees.

The protest states that the residents only recently discovered the company had no right to receive any of the payments, insisting that the money should always have gone to the government.

When this became clear, many stopped paying altogether, demanding proof of entitlement that the operator never provided.

The protest also notes that director Vincent Vella is currently accumulating daily planning fines tied to an enforcement notice concerning illegal development on the site.

Although Vella appealed the enforcement notice, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal confirmed most of it in a 2021 decision.

In spite of this, the protest claims the operator continued extending its activities on-site, even taking tenants into structures originally intended as toilets, showers and food service areas.

These, the association says, have been converted into stores, unlicensed cafeteria operations and a dormitory, while the campsite itself has deteriorated into a neglected and degraded state.

The association adds that, despite allegedly lacking any legal right over the land, the company has initiated eviction cases against several caravan owners, including proceedings before the Rent Regulation Board and the Civil Court.

It has also issued garnishee orders worth tens of thousands of euro, freezing the assets of residents in an attempt to recover payments the protest argues were never owed in the first place.

What angers the residents most, they say, is the apparent inaction from the Lands Authority, which has acknowledged in other proceedings that the operator has no title and is effectively occupying public land as a squatter.

The protest accuses the authorities of allowing the situation to continue unchecked, enabling the company to “trample over” the rights of families who have now suffered years of financial and personal hardship.

In their judicial protest, the caravan owners call on the operator and its director to vacate the public land immediately, return all money collected from residents, and halt all ongoing legal action against them.

They also demand that the authorities take the necessary steps to stop what they describe as repeated and ongoing abuse, while holding all parties responsible for damages already suffered.

The matter may now escalate into a full civil action if the respondents fail to comply.

Lawyer Mark Vassallo filed the judicial protest.