Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/501315
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 APRIL 2015 8 News 20 boathouses regularised in 2008, 17 similar applications rejected in 2010, 2011 JAMES DEBONO THIS week, the MEPA board re- jected four applications to approve illegalities that had already been rejected back in 2010 and 2011, but awkwardly approved the rebuilding of a boathouse that had collapsed – perpetuating a distinction between legal and illegal boathouses that de- fies any logic. 47 of the 68 boathouses in Dwejra were built illegally after 1968. In 2005, the Nationalist adminis- tration issued an action plan to regu- larise any illegal boathouse filing for a permit before 2006. Just days be- fore the 2008 elections, MEPA regu- larised 20 boathouses in the highly sensitive and protected area, a can- didate for UNESCO World Heritage status. But then in 2010 and 2011, under the stewardship of chairman Austin Walker, the MEPA board rejected 17 similar applications to sanction those boathouses which had not been regularised in 2008. During the meeting, Walker un- derlined that a line had to be drawn on sanctioning illegal structures in outside development zones (ODZ), deciding that refusing the applica- tions was in the "public interest and proper planning". The owners appealed to the Envi- ronment and Planning Review Tri- bunal, insisting that the boathouses be sanctioned according to the 2005 action plan. In March 2014, one of the EPRT's panels – whose members were ap- pointed by the newly-elected Labour administration – concluded that MEPA could not declare that the proposal runs counter to "public in- terest and proper planning" without providing supporting arguments. It requested MEPA to issue the per- mit subject to a planning obligation equivalent to €4,612. But a month later in April 2014, another EPRT panel – this time, with members appointed by the previous administration – turned down an appeal on one of the rejected boat- house permits, saying that MEPA cannot sanction any development in designated protected areas. Then came a new policy regulating development inside ODZs, and the EPRT once again passed the buck to the MEPA board, requesting it to de- cide on whether the 2010-2011 cases of rejected boathouses could be ap- proved under this new policy. On Thursday, the MEPA board simply decided that the policy did not apply to these four cases, reject- ed them for the third time. But now the buck has been passed again to the EPRT, which will re- assess the permit according to other policies – including the action plan approved in 2005, which has never been withdrawn. Complicating matters is the fact that the board decided to follow a precedent set by the MEPA board back in 2008, to approve the recon- struction of a boathouse that had collapsed: given that it was among the lucky ones to be regularised be- fore the 2008 general election. In fact, both MEPA's Environ- ment Protection Directorate and its Natural Heritage Advisory Commit- tee recommended the refusal of this application as the development was located in a protected area. But the Planning Directorate invoked the new policy regulating ODZ develop- ment, which allows the reconstruc- tion of structures which had been previously issued with a legally valid permit. The MEPA board also issued a permit for a boathouse, which was among the bunch approved in 2008, but whose owner never paid the fees required for the permit to be issued. This effectively meant that the boat- house was still an illegal develop- ment. So by approving it the new MEPA board simply confirmed a decision taken before the 2008 general elec- tion, effectively retaining the status quo by also recognising decisions it took in 2010 and 2011. It will now be the EPRT to take its decision, away from the cameras and reporters. In the meantime MEPA has not withdrawn the 2005 action plan, which is still invoked to give legiti- macy to the boathouses approved in 2008 even if these are in clear breach of other MEPA policies against de- velopment in highly protected areas. Until the policy is scrapped, the Dwejra village will remain divided between owners of the boathouses approved in 2008 and their neigh- bours whose boathouses were not approved in 2011. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Dwejra boathouse saga betrays MEPA's contradictory policies COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in the corridors of the Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date and Time Judicial Sale No Property 5th May, 2015 10/15 - 10.30am EM Appartment numbered fifteen (15) in a block of apartments named 'Sapphire Court' in Triq San Fran!isk, San Pawl il- Ba"ar valued at one hundred and sixteen thousand Euros (#116,000). Garage unumbered underlaying a block of apartments numbered forty three (43) in Triq Ramon Perellos, San Pawl il- Ba"ar valued at one hundred twelve thousand Euros ( #112,000). These properties are presently occupied and rented to third parties. 5th May, 205 6/13 - 11.00am EGL Apartment number one (1), in a block of apartments built instead of tenement number sixty two (62), Triq San Luqa, St. Paul's Bay subject to annual and perpetual ground rent of sixteen cents and four mils euro (# 0.16,4) as well as pro rata share of the common parts of the block valued at forty-five thousand euro (# 45,000). Apartment number three (3) in a block of apartments built instead of tenement number sixty two (62), Triq San Luqa, St. Paul's Bay subject to annual and perpetual ground rent of sixteen cents and four mils euro (# 0.16,4) as well as pro rata share of the common parts of the block valued at seventy thousand euro (# 70,000). 5th May, 2015 113/12 - 12.00pm EGL Maisonette with no official number named 'Dar il-Palma' situated at elevated ground floor in Triq Vin$enzo Ciappara, Mellie"a corner with Triq il- Lu", Mellie"a, free and unencumbered, with all its rights and appurtenances valued at one hundred and five thousand Euro (#105,000). Garage with no number and name, accessible from Triq Triq Vin$enzo Ciappara, Mellie"a, underlying the maisonette with no official number named 'Dar il-Palma' subject to annual and perpetual ground rent of six Euro and ninety nine cents (#6.99) subject to the active and passive servitues resulting from its position valued at fifty eight Euro (#58,000). 7th May, 2015 94/13 - 11.00am EGL The temporary utili dominju for the remaining period of two hundred years (200) that commenced from the twenty first (21) of February of year one thousand nine hundred and sixty (1960) of tenement sive penthouse internally marked eighteen (18) forming part of a block externally numbered fourteen (14) letter 'A' (14A) and named 'Boylan Buildings' in Triq G"ar il-Lembi, Sliema, subject to annual and perpetual ground rent of forty six Euro and fifty nine cents (#46.59) otherwise free and unencumbered, valued at three hundred and sixty thousand Euro (#360,000). unencumbered, with all its rights and appurtenances valued at one hundred thirty thousand Euros (# 130,000) 14th May, 2015 83/13 - 11.00am JGL One Car Garage at Basement Level internally marked number eight (8) with access from a ramp from Triq A.M. Valperga, Fgura, including an undivided share of the common parts of the same garages complex. The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at Twenty Eight Thousand Euros (# 28,000). One Car Garage at Basement Level internally marked number twelve (12) with access from a ramp from Triq A.M. Valperga, Fgura, including an undivided share of the common parts of the same garages complex. The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at Twenty Eight Thousand Euros (# 28,000). One Car Garage at Basement Level internally marked number fifteen (15) with access from a ramp from Triq A.M. Valperga, Fgura, including an undivided share of the common parts of the same garages complex. The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at Twenty Eight Thousand Euros (# 28,000). Apartment on first floor level internally marked number seven (7) with access from Triq 'ensu Busuttil,Fgura including an undivided share of the common parts of the same appartments complex. The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at One Hundred and Ten Thousand Euros (# 110,000). Apartment second floor level internally marked number eleven (11) with access from Triq 'ensu Busuttil,Fgura, including an undivided share of the common parts of the same appartments complex. The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at One Hundred and twenty Thousand Euros (# 120,000) Penthouse internally marked number fourteen (14), with access from Triq 'ensu Busuttil,Fgura including an undivided share of the common parts of the same appartments complex; The property is subject to an annual ground rent of Ten Euros (#10) valued at One Hundred and twenty Thousand Euros (# 120,000) The airspace on the Block named "Ta Marie Court" in Triq Censu Busuttil, Fgura including an undivided share of the common parts of the same appartments complex. The airspace has an annual ground rent of twenty Euros (#20) valued at one hundred thousand Euros (# 100,000) 14th May, 2015 41/13 - 11.30am PP Elevated Ground floor Maisonette without airspace, named 'Rose House' and underlaying garage in Triq Mimosa, in Gwardamangia, Hamrun, The property is free and unencumbered valued at one hundred and ten thousand Euros (#110,000) 14th May, 2015 16/12 - 12.00pm EM Maisonette numbered one hundred and twenty- five (125) on the first floor with its own airspace, in Triq Annibale Preca, Lija and Garage numbered fifteen (15), which forms part of a complex of garages, accessible from an unnamed street, which leads to Triq Annibale Preca, Lija. The value of the property is seventy thousand Euros (#70,000) 19th May, 2015 42/13 - 11.30am EGL The tenements numbered fifty six (56), fifty seven (57) and fifty eight (58) in Triq San Gwann, Bormla, free and unencumbered, with its rights and appurtenances, valued at eighty three thousand euro (#83,000) A garage numbered seven (7) in Triq it-Tobra, %al-Lija, who has access in Triq il-Larin!, H'Attard valued at fifteen thousand and five hundred euro (#15,500) Euro (#90,000). First floor tenement number eight (8), in Triq l- Iskola, Marsa underlying third party property subject to ground rent of three Euro and eighty seven Euro cents (#3.87) valued at twenty five thousand and five hundred Euro (#25,500). 26th May, 2015 75/14 - 10.30am PP Shop named 'Honey Corner 2', in Triq il- Qaliet, Marsascala with a surface of one hundred and eight square metres (108m 2 ) directly accessible from pavement level. The shop has a length of eighteen point six metres (18.6m), a width of four point three metres (4.3m) on the front and six point four metres (6.4m) at the back. The shop has a facade of four point five metres (4.5m) with a glass aperture of three metres (3m). The property is valued at one hundred and eighty five thousand Euros(# 185,000). 28th May, 2015 8/14 - 10.30am JGL The tenement named "The Wilderness", before known as "Havana Club", in Triq ta' Pinu, also known as Triq l- G"arb, today named Triq Papa &wanni Pawlu t- tieni, limits of G"arb, Gozo, on two floors, subject to an annual and perpetual ground rent and sub ground of ninety Euros and Eighty Five cents (#90.85). This tenement underlays property named "il- Mina Restaurant" and restaurant without number named "il- Mina Restaurant" in Triq ta' Pinu, also known as Triq l- G"arb, today named Triq Papa &wanni Pawlu t- tieni, limits of G"arb, Gozo, subject to an annual and perpetual ground rent of thirty four Euros and ninety five cents (#34.95). This tenement overlays the property named "The Wilderness". The properties are free and unencumbered valued at one million, four hundred and fifty euro (# 1,450,000) Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card. Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals Timeline April 2005 Approval of Dwejra Action Plan, paving way for the legalisation of illegal boathouses February 2008 MEPA approves 20 illegal boathouses April 2010 MEPA rejects permit for 13 illegal boathouses citing "public interest" July 2011 MEPA rejects permit for four other illegal boathouses March 2014 Environment and Planning Tribunal for Review orders MEPA to issue a permit for a boathouse rejected in 2010. September 2014 New policy regulating ODZ development approved. EPTR orders MEPA board to reassess permits refused in 2010 and 2011 according to the new policy April 2015 MEPA board confirms four refusals from 2010 and 2011 while issuing permits for development on two boathouses approved in 2008