The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) board approved a €20,000 fine on Friday after a protected Southern nettle tree was felled in Lija, according to TVMnews, which cited an announcement by the authority.
The tree stood on Triq il-Mosta, on a plot where the Planning Authority approved a four-level car showroom in August. Times of Malta reported that the planning documents described it as an olive tree. ERA had recommended transplanting trees on the site based on the information in those documents.
Arborist Jonathan Henwood told Times of Malta he sent ERA photographs on 25 October identifying the tree as a Southern nettle tree (Celtis australis). ERA responded on 3 November and alerted the showroom architect to the tree’s protected status. The tree was felled the next day and was already gone when ERA inspectors visited, the newspaper reported.
The showroom architect told Times of Malta that the machinery seen on the plot was passing through to a neighbouring site. Developer Keith Grima told the newspaper he had been unaware of any protected tree on the showroom plot and said work on the showroom had yet to start.
Featured photo — Jonathan Henwood via Times of Malta.
