developers free rein and
strip environmental protections
Bills #143 and #144 and the proposed legal notices are a direct assault on Malta's democracy and environmental protections. They annihilate safeguards, muzzle objections, and hand the Planning Authority unchecked power. The time to act is now!
Arbitrary Power Grab
The Planning Authority and Minister would gain sweeping powers — bypassing existing policies, changing building heights, changing ODZ designations, and even reviving expired permits.
Local Plans Made Useless
New policies would no longer need to follow Local Plans. Any policy issued at the whim of the PA or Minister could take precedence — even if it contradicts all others.
Environmental Protection Removed
Planning decisions would no longer need to take environmental or sanitary considerations into account.
Public Right to Appeal Crushed
The right to appeal would be severely restricted. Appeals could only be made on narrow technical and legal points raised during the objection stage, while the application is still being processed.
20 Days to Appeal And Risk A Fine
Citizens would have just 20 days to file an appeal. If an appeal is deemed “frivolous”, a fine of €5,000 could be imposed — with no chance to contest it.
Courts Lose Power Too
Even if citizens win in court, permits would not be revoked. The case would simply be referred back to the PA’s own tribunal — which is not independent.
Illegal Becomes Legal
If a court appeal lasts more than five months, any construction carried out during that time would automatically become legal.
- Withdraw the bills immediately
- Do not consult on legislation that is fundamentally flawed, malicious in intent, and impossible to remedy. Withdraw the bills and draft legal notices at once.
- Suspend works on appealed developments
- Amend the law to immediately suspend all works on developments approved by the Planning Authority while an appeal is pending.
- White Paper for genuine consultation
- Release a White Paper to open a real, wide-ranging public consultation on the broader planning reforms Malta truly needs.
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The proposed planning reform bills represent nothing short of a full-scale takeover by developers - one that will inflict irreversible damage on our country's planning system and environment.
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Any groups in Malta and Gozo are invited to endorse the campaign by sending an email on info@gustizzjartna.org. Groups can include non-governmental organisations, residents, students, workers and farmers. All non-partisan groups whose aims are in line with our demands are invited to join.
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