Letters to the editor - December 4, 2021
Ta’ Baldu, 13 years on A few weeks ago, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) made a highly anticipated decision regarding the picturesque site known as Ta’ Baldu, Rabat. Highly anticipated is, in fact, an understatement. The four cases in question, all for the sanctioning of illegal development on one of the most highly-protected sites in the Maltese islands, had been working their way through the planning system since 2008. These included sanctioning for the construction of a so-called ‘demountable pool’, the installation of gates restricting public access, the gutting of a scheduled building, the construction of an alpine-style timber shed and the formation of a lighted walkway. Prior to 2008, Ta’ Baldu, both a Natura 2000 site and an area of high-landscape value, had been subjected to a series of interventions intended to transform the site into a villa garden, as condemned by the MEPA auditor in 2009. It is worthwhile to quote from this report which summarises the state of affairs at the time: “A person who seems to consider himself above the law carries out a major development on a highly-sensitive site protected by law due to its environmental and...