Caravan sites at Armier, Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq chosen because land is public – Environment Ministry

Two temporary caravan sites at Armier and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq were chosen because the land is government-owned, the Environment Ministry said.

The two areas were selected before a long-term policy regulating the sector has been finalised, in what appears to be a decision to mitigate the consequences of last month’s clampdown on caravans parked at Mistra Bay.

“The two sites are the first to be chosen because the land in question belongs to the government,” a spokesperson for the Environment Ministry told MaltaToday, when asked about the site selection process.

She confirmed that a larger number of sites had been proposed by the public during a public consultation held in March to elicit feedback on a policy framework to regulate recreational land uses for camping, caravanning and picnicking.

This was accompanied by a call for expression of interest by landowners of sites earmarked in local plans for the purposes of such recreational activities.  

When asked whether the Environment and Resources Authority was involved in the site selection process, the spokesperson replied that all regulatory bodies will be asked for their feedback during the assessment of the applications for the temporary sites.

Meanwhile, the Naxxar local council has protested that it was not consulted on the Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq site that falls within its confines. The council said it only got to know about the development from a MaltaToday report that appeared yesterday.

The planning applications for the temporary caravan sites were presented by Infrastructure Malta. The roads agency had said that it is simply “assisting” the Environment Ministry in what it described as “minor civil works required to set up the two temporary caravan sites at Armier and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq”.

The 4,000sq.m site in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq will be developed on a stretch of the old Coast Road left redundant after the completion of the widened road. It is situated next to a roundabout opposite the Magħtab landfill.

Another caravan site is being proposed on a 2,300sq.m site in Armier next to the illegal shantytown in Ramlet il-Qortin.

Plans submitted indicate that a rubble wall will enclose the Armier site, while a wall will also be built on the other site as well. No landscaping plan has been presented so far for both sites, even if this is a planning requirement for caravan areas.

READ ALSO: Infrastructure Malta files planning applications for two temporary caravan sites