Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1178032
MATTHEW VELLA A group of 26 Maltese nation- als have been awarded €150,000 in damages by the European Court of Human Rights over the expropriation of their land in Mellieha and its grant to a private company in 1992. The applicants owned stakes in almost 4,000sq.m of land in Għadira Bay, Mellieha, when this was expropriated in the late 1950s while other plots in the area were being taken for coast- al development. In 1992 part of the land was granted to a com- pany under a beach concession. The applicants insisted that the land was expropriated with- out a public interest at stake and that they had not been paid compensation. The applicants took legal steps over the years to try and re- cover their land, including con- stitutional proceedings which began in 2009. In 2015, a su- perior court found a breach of their property rights, awarding them €20,000 in damages, but 58 years after the expropriation the applicants had still not re- ceived a deed of transfer or any compensation. The origins of the expropria- tion occurred in 1954, when the property was being rented out as a caravan site. In 1957, the land was expropri- ated together with other pieces of land as part of the Għadira Scheme, a project aimed at ex- tending the sandy beach to al- low for more access to the sea for swimming purposes. Over the years, until 1973, the applicants repeatedly made attempts, to no avail, to recover their property, ex- plaining that they were willing to put in place a beach conces- sion. But in 1992, part of this land was given to a private compa- ny, under a beach concession allowing for encroachment for just Lm200 annually, until 2006. The applicants took legal steps, unsuccessfully, in 1992. In 2006, a fresh beach con- cession was announced at €16,000 (Lm7,000) – the origi- nal company continued to use the property on an annual en- croachment fee of Lm1 (€2.33) per sq.m and €4.66 per sq.m as management contribution. In 2009, the owners filed a constitutional case request- ing the return of the land and compensation, arguing that they had been deprived of their property while oth- ers made commercial profits at their expense. They were awarded damages in 2015, however the court said it had not been proven that the land had originally been taken to build a road, which plan never came to be. Instead, the property had been expropriated for the pur- poses of tourism and economic development at the Mellieha beach, and so the court decided that the fact that the land was given for a beach concession did not detract from the public interest of the expropriation. The court also said the fact that owners had waited until 2009 to take constitutional ac- tion, weakened their case, and considered that it should not order the return of the land to the applicants. The decision was confirmed on appeal by a Constitutional Court, yet by 2019 the Lands Authority had not instituted any compensation proceed- ings. The ECHR also said that the expropriation under the Għadira Scheme was in the public interest, and that the fact that around 10% of the ex- propriated land was granted on concession, did not detract from the public interest. The applicants insisted that the land was worth well over €4 million, by way of commer- cial losses suffered over 62 years – the area can take up to 270 beach beds a day at a daily in- come of €2,700 over some 168 days every year and at 80% oc- cupancy. The government in- sisted that the value of the land was actually €185,000, since in 1957 the land was agricultural in nature. The Strasbourg court decided on a €150,000 compen- sation. The applicants were repre- sented in court by lawyers Jo- seph Gatt and Albert Libreri. 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 OCTOBER 2019 NEWS Landowners get €150,000 from European Court but expropriated Mellieha land used for beach concession will remain in the hands of the State Ghadira landowners win damages but not right to take back land The applicants owned stakes in almost 4,000sq.m of land in Ghadira Bay, when this was expropriated in the late 1950s (area in yellow)