A Planning Authority decision to withdraw an enforcement notice issued years ago following the unauthorised opening of a road in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq has left residents fuming and raised eyebrows.
The controversy revolves around what was previously a 100-metre walkway on garigue land linking Triq Qalet Marku to a country road leading to Magħtab. In 2010, unauthorised works had been carried out to convert this passageway into a road, by laying fresh concrete on virgin land.  
Such development had prompted the Planning Authority to issue an enforcement notice on the grounds that inert material had been dumped and a country lane covered in concrete without a permit. However, the PA has recently withdrawn this notice, leaving irked residents fuming.  
The latter had long been complaining that this quiet area had turned into a busy thoroughfare following the opening of the road.
“Apart from having been widened to allow trucks to pass through it, the road has attracted traffic as it is the shortest way to access the Coast Road from areas around Mosta, Naxxar and Għargħur,” was a common complaint levelled by residents who spoke to the Times of Malta. 
In turn, this led to speed-ing offences…