Enemalta’s ‘olive trees’ for illegal substation

Enemalta has applied again to regularise an illegally-built 80 sq.m substation and switch room (pictured) in Tal-Hadeddin in Mgarr, which lies in an agricultural area outside development zones.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority had refused a similar request in 2010 but the substation, built before 2007, was never removed and slapped with an enforcement order. Enemalta’s appeal is pending.

The area around the substation is presently in a derelict state.

MEPA’s natural heritage advisory panel (NHAP) contends that regularisation is “unacceptable especially when the applicant is a parastatal organisation, which should set a good example”.

Enemalta has now presented a landscaping scheme to minimise the visual impact of the unsightly structure. But the NHAP has objected, insisting that the mitigation measures are insufficient to reduce the visual impact of the structure by surrounding it with olive trees.