MEPA refuses to sanction five illegal Dwejra boathouses

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority board said these illegalities “were incompatible with the ecological protection of this sensitive area and went against the public interest."

MEPA said that through the rulings, it has “once again sent out a clear message, as it had done last year when it had refused to sanction illegalities related to a further 11 boathouse in Dwejra,  that it will not tolerate the illegal abuse of land, especially in ODZ areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protected Areas.”

The authority added that the extensive reform now prohibits the submission of a planning application which seeks to regularize illegal development in an outside development zone or a protected area carried out after May 2008.

MEPA also said that its board approved the change of use of a permitted summer residence into a diving shop, in a separate planning application within the Dwejra area. The Planning Directorate confirmed that this residence had been constructed prior to 1957 and the change of use was in line with the objectives of the Qawra/Dwejra Action Plan.

A further three applications for the sanctioning of illegal extensions to the existing boathouses were also deferred by the board, following a request from their respective architects.

MEPA said its board also dismissed a request for the reconsideration of scheduling of a property in Pjazza Santu Wistin in Rabat, Gozo. The scheduling of this property had been approved earlier this year, the authority said.

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar welcomed the decision, but said it regretted that the decisions on three of the cases were postponed, "which means that this sad episode in environmental management drags on."

The NGO said that the beauty of the Dwejra landscape and its unique geological and ecological features had already been impacted by the eyesore of a 'visitor centre-cum restaurant’, with its platform and large beams dominating the view down into thel geological bowl of Dwejra. "The sooner action is taken to remove the Dwejra illegalities, the better it will be both for Dwejra’s ecology and environment and also for the benefit of the Gozitan tourism industry," FAA said.