Court rules Siggiewi land used as quarry by Polidano to be returned to public

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a sizeable piece of land in Siġġiewi that developer Polidano has been using as a quarry for years must be returned to the public.

The Court, presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, Judge Robert Mangion and Judge Grazio Micallef upheld the ruling of the Civil Court in a case filed by the Lands Authority that Polidano & Schembri Quarries Ltd, as well as three brothers owning the concession, had breached the conditions of the concession.

The Court of Appeal also confirmed that Polidano must be evicted from the land, which is over four hectares.

The quarry, located in an area known as Tal-Ġibjun at a crossroads with Tal-Għolja in Siġġiewi, has been the subject of complaints for many years because of the dust, noise, and trucks in the area.

The land was given to the Camilleri brothers’ uncle, Antonio Camilleri, in 1933 to use as agricultural land for LM 1 (Maltese lira) for 150 years.

The land was eventually transferred to his nephews in 1977 who remain the owners of the concession even if they transferred it to Polidano.

Before that, they had transferred the land to F&A Quarries Ltd in 1992 for LM 35,000 (Maltese lira), which is over €70,000.

They then transferred the land to Polidano Brothers in 1995.

Several warnings were sent to the brothers to stop their breach of the conditions on which the land was granted to them, which were ignored.

The conditions included its use as arable land and the planting of trees in areas where that was not possible, otherwise fines would be imposed and the government would have the right to claim it back.

Among the arguments raised by the Camilleri brothers was the issue that argued that the police continued to issue permits for its use as a quarry.

The Court of Appeal insisted the land must be returned to the public within two months.