Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1236030
16.04.2020 10 TOWNSCAPES A number of structures which were built without planning permission, some dating as far back as the early 1980s, have over the past weeks been removed after the Planning Authority's compliance & en- forcement officers warned contravenors of imminent di- rect action. A rural structure measuring over 120m² and built in the early 1980s, in close proxim- ity to the Ħagar Qim Tem- ples, limits of Qrendi, was fi- nally demolished and the site returned back to its original state. The structure which had been built without planning permission, in this pristine ar- ea along Triq il-Kbir, had been served with an enforcement notice in 1999. On agricultural land in a site off Triq tal-Għarix, limits of Qrendi, a number of other rooms which recently were constructed without planning permission were demolished and the site was reinstated to its previous use. In Xlendi, Gozo, a canopy structure constructed without planning permission outside a restaurant across the wa- terfront was removed after a planning application to sanc- tion the illegality and an ap- peal against the enforcement notice were withdrawn. A daily fine was imposed fol- lowing the issuing of the en- forcement notice. The canopy included illegal signage and the placing of tables and chairs which were also removed. A number of disused cars and other heavy machinery and vehicles which were left abandoned in a site within Wied il-Ghasel, limits of Mo- sta, were removed. The site is part of an ar- ea, with more than 1.5km in length, where the Planning Authority had given planning permission for a rehabilitation and upgrading project to be carried out in 2017. The area starts off from Wied Għajn Riħana near the Victoria Lines, between Mos- ta and Bidnija, and extends to the proximity of the Grade 1 Scheduled Chapel, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexan- dria, right down in the valley beyond the quarries. Last year, to tackle the pend- ing caseload of enforcement notices, the Authority em- barked on a strategic approach regarding the old cases. This yielded the desired re- sults since the number of pending enforcement notic- es was reduced by 61% when compared to the reduction in the number of cases of the pre- vious year. In the coming weeks, the Compliance & Enforcement Directorate will keep working vigilantly not only to monitor that all ongoing development works are being carried out according to approved draw- ing and conditions of permis- sion but will continue to ad- dress old cases where illegal development was carried out and is still not regularised or removed. Planning Authority removes structures built without planning permission Images show areas after direct action in Mosta (top), Qrendi (second and third rows) and Xlendi (bottom row)