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MEPA to decide Friday on Armier electricity substation
Planning authority to take decision on substation for Armier boathouse owners, recommended for refusal by planning directorate.
4 January 2012, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Armier Bay is illegally occupied by boathouse owners who built their summer huts over 67,000 square metres of seafront in an outside development zone.
MEPA is to decide on an application by Enemalta to construct an electricity substation that will strengthen the power supply to the squatters' village in Armier.
The Ramblers' Association and six other environmental NGO said they expected the board to refuse the application.
"Common sense instinctively guided the case officer to recommend an outright refusal of this application. Apparently the case officer has a lot more sense than Enemalta, which should never have submitted this application in the first place."
Armier Bay is illegally occupied by boathouse owners who built their summer huts over 67,000 square metres of seafront in an outside development zone.
"Enemalta, in their wisdom, have already supplied these 800 beach rooms with electricity, presumably without asking for a compliance certificate from MEPA, as they normally do for ordinary members of the public. Now Enemalta wants to strengthen the electricity supply, so that these squatters will be better served," the Ramblers said.
"For a member of the European Union that prides itself on its principles of democracy and justice to allow prime land to be illegally seized, and subsequently have this occupation supported by a government entity, is an insult to every tax-paying citizen of these over-exploited islands."
The seven environmental NGOs - Ramblers Association of Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din L-Art Helwa, Malta Organic and Agriculture Movement, Nature Trust Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta and Birdlife Malta - said MEPA must do what was "reasonable, right and morally just, and throw out this application."
"Approving such an application would simply endorse the squatters' stand, indicating an intention to eventually succumb to the squatters' demands. MEPA has recently been acting a little more responsibly in withholding permits to applicants who are clearly and blatantly abusing the system. An approval of this application would send out a totally different signal - that of rewarding illegality, and would go down in history as one of the most irresponsible, illegal and unjust precedents that MEPA has ever set."
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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Give 'em the electricity. Then they would have set a precedent where we can ALL grab a piece of public land and build on it, without fear of of the bulldozers, quoting the Armier slum as your absolute right to build illegally.
Georgette Bezzina •
@kummenttur
It seems that in your rush to make your comments you did not read the article in question. The Rumblers'
Association along with other NGO'S had expressed its objection. and six other environmental NGO said they expected the board to refuse the application.
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Missna naghmlu pressure group sabiex dawn il-gageg illegali inwaqqghuhom ahna la l-gvernijiet jigu jaqghu u jqumu mill-Maltin l-ohra! Vera l-poplu kwiet!! Fejn huma r-ramblers? Fejn hu l-ministru tal-ambjent? Fejn hi l-MEPA???? ja qatta korrotti kollha!!!
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It is inconceivable how MEPA could even consider discussing the issue when it is well known that the buildings at Armier are all illegal constructions. It is a clear case of crass institutional corruption, either by MEPA or by whoever is forcing MEPA to consider (probably approving) such an amenity. Perhaps the elections are near?
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All proceeds from the sale of electricity will go towards enhancing Malta's Corruption Perceptions Index.
