Neighbours fuming over illegal work

Birguma residents are outraged after illegalities in a neighbouring property were given the green light by the planning authority before they could have their say. The residents objected to the development from the outset and succeeded in getting the contractor to scale down his original plans in 2007, but the project still went beyond what was permitted. Now, the contractor sanctioned the illegalities through a fresh development permit, meaning the registered objectors were not notified of his request and were not able to raise their concerns. To make matters worse, the site notice and newspaper advert notifying the public of the permit did not refer to sanctioning but “alterations”, meaning residents were led to think the illegalities were being fixed, not approved. The contractor was already unpopular in the area after he dangerously dug under his neighbour’s pool, causing a sizeable chunk of the deck to collapse. Now, residents are fuming. “The contractor always wins and the person who abides by all the rules is the loser,” said Rowena Mamo, who owns the property whose pool deck was damaged and spent years complaining about the project. Built in a one-storey area, the...