Serious enforcement at last

Abstract

Enforcement has often been regarded as the Cinderella arm of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, mainly in view of its perceived fickle and ineffective nature. Mepa is aware of this public perception, which has matured over the years as a result of its burgeoning enforce ment caseload. The appointment of Alex Borg as the new head of new enforcement at Mepa might signal a sea change as regards enforce ment, with numerous high-profile cases being tackled over the past few weeks. For instance, at St Thomas Bay, in preparation for the summer season, which normally sees caravans being placed along the bay’s shoreline for months on end, Mepa recently ripped up concrete platforms which were illegally laid, presumably by caravan owners, so as to ‘cushion’ their extended stay by the water’s edge. Through this column I was the first to report this infringement, along with the dumping of tons of construction rubble and debris along the shoreline and into the sea in order to widen the coastal stretch available to caravan owners in a spurious case of land reclamation.