BCA fines developer over regulatory breaches in Mellieħa

The Building and Construction Authority has issued a fine against a developer in Mellieħa for regulatory breaches at a development site.

The BCA had conducted inspections over recent months and issued clear instructions to the developer to remove material from the common area.

The BCA's enforcement action follows a video posted on Facebook by Momentum party chairperson Arnold Cassola, who detailed the hazardous conditions residents have endured at the site for the past three years.

Cassola quotes a letter to Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Jonathan Attard describing structural failures, flooding, and safety breaches affecting the family, including a gypsum ceiling that collapsed into his baby's cot and an unsecured lift shaft he described as a "death trap."

"For the past three years, my family—including my newborn baby, my elderly mother-in-law, and a sick, senior dog—has been forced to live permanently inside a dangerous, unregulated construction site," Cassola quoted from the letter. 

He detailed injuries sustained by family members, displacement from their home, and ongoing hazards including broken lift parts dumped in common areas and an open lift shaft secured only by a loose piece of gypsum board.

According to the BCA, following complaints from affected residents, BCA officials returned to the site and found that material remained in the common area, and the developer had failed to properly manage water ingress into building openings.

"The BCA immediately issued a fine and ordered the developer to remove all material from the common area, close all openings, and carry out necessary cleaning works by 20 September," the authority said in a statement.