100 residents complain to Ombudsman over restaurant permit

A group of 100 residents have complained to the Ombudsman over a permit for a bar and restaurant in a residential block in Qawra. They said they had appealed to the Environment and Planning Tribunal to overturn the permit granted by a Development Control Commission in 2007. However the tribunal had ignored the professional opinions of three case officers who recommended that the proposed development be refused. Other important witnesses were not called. The permit was for a change of use of shops, allowing a bar and restaurant at basement level in a block of 15 apartments. The residents insisted the permit had been issued “under very dubious circumstances” . More details in The Times