A united front of NGOs expresses alarm at the Government’s intention to plough ahead with a legislative package that would enable a total developers’ takeover of our planning system, while also regularising all sorts of illegalities across the country.

The NGOs reiterate that the current “consultation process,” initiated by Government at the beginning of August, is a sham. It is based on documents that are malicious in intent and structurally irreparable, as they have been crafted around the developers’ interests rather than the common good.

In this context, the NGOs are calling on the public to urgently make their voices heard in order to stop this unprecedented threat to our environment and quality of life. Individuals and communities are urged to submit objections by filling in the form provided here by the 7 September. The text below may be freely used for this purpose.

Further actions will be announced in due course.

“I strongly object to this legislative package, which dismantles planning safeguards, obstructs appeals against PA decisions, and rewards illegalities.

This consultation is a sham, launched only after two planning bills were secretly drafted and tabled in Parliament.

Bill 143 grants the PA unfettered powers, including rezoning areas and increasing building heights, effectively allowing ODZ designations to vanish overnight. Local Plans will be overridden by arbitrary, lower-level PA policies, rendering them meaningless. Planning Boards will no longer be obliged to consider environmental or sanitary constraints, and they may even disregard existing regulations altogether. Provisions on “vested rights” would shackle future governments from strengthening environmental protection.

Bill 144 seeks to curtail the public’s right to challenge harmful PA decisions. It strips the Court of its power to revoke illegal permits, limits appeals to narrowly defined legal grounds raised at objection stage, and imposes unrealistic deadlines. A non-independent tribunal would gain sweeping discretion, including the ability to alter plans mid-process.

The accompanying three legal notices amount to a blanket amnesty on illegal development, with no restrictions on size, scale, or location. Even ODZ and UCA areas would be covered, encouraging more abuse and cementing past illegalities.

This package was clearly devised in bad faith to satisfy developers at the expense of citizens’ rights, our environment, and quality of life. It must be withdrawn in full, and replaced by a genuine reform process starting with a White Paper guided by the common good, not the profits of the greedy few.”

Organisations
BirdLife Malta
Din l-Art Ħelwa
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar
Friends of the Earth Malta
Għawdix
Moviment Graffitti
Nature Trust – FEE Malta
Ramblers Association
Wirt Għawdex

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L-għaqdiet isejħu lill-pubbliku sabiex joġġezzjona kontra r-“riforma” distruttiva tal-ippjanar u konsultazzjoni finta

Front magħqud ta’ għaqdiet qed jesprimi tħassib kbir dwar l-intenzjoni tal-Gvern li jkompli jmexxi ’l quddiem is-sett ta’ liġijiet li se jwasslu għal poter bla preċedent f’idejn l-iżviluppaturi fuq is-sistema tal-ippjanar tagħna, kif ukoll jirregolarizzaw kull xorta ta’ illegalità madwar il-pajjiż.

L-għaqdiet qed jerġgħu jisħqu li l-“proċess ta’ konsultazzjoni” attwali, imniedi mill-Gvern fil-bidu ta’ Awwissu, mhuwa xejn għajr farsa. Huwa bbażat fuq dokumenti li għandhom intenzjoni malizzjuża u li huma strutturalment irrimedjabbli, għax ġew imfassla abbażi tal-interessi tal-iżviluppaturi u mhux fuq il-ġid komuni.

F’dan il-kuntest, l-għaqdiet qed jappellaw lill-pubbliku biex isemma’ leħnu b’mod urġenti sabiex din it-theddida bla preċedent għall-ambjent tagħna u għall-kwalità tal-ħajja tiġi mwaqqfa. Individwi u komunitajiet qed jiġu mħeġġa jissottomettu l-oġġezzjonijiet tagħhom billi jimlew il-formola pprovduta hawn sa mhux aktar tard mis-7 ta’ Settembru. Jista’ jiġi użat it-test ta’ hawn isfel fl-oġġezzjoni.

Azzjonijiet oħra se jiġu mħabbra fi żmien qarib.

“Noġġezzjona bil-qawwa kontra dan il-pakkett leġiżlattiv, li jżarma s-salvagwardji tal-ippjanar, ifixkel l-appelli kontra deċiżjonijiet tal-PA, u jippremja l-illegalitajiet.

Din il-konsultazzjoni hija farsa, li ġiet imnedija biss wara li żewġ abbozzi tal-ippjanar nħmew bil-moħbi u ġew ppreżentati fil-Parlament.

L-Abbozz 143 jagħti setgħat bla limitu lill-PA, inkluż li tagħmel tibdil fiż-żonar u żżid l-għoli permess tal-bini, li effettivament ifisser li d-deżinjazzjonijiet tal-ODZ jistgħu jitħassru mil-lejl għan-nhar. Il-Pjanijiet Lokali se jiġu megħluba minn politiki arbitrarji ta’ grad iktar baxx maħruġa mill-PA, u b’hekk il-Pjanijiet Lokali se jitilfu s-saħħa tagħhom. Il-Bords tal-Ippjanar mhux se jkunu aktar obbligati jikkunsidraw limitazzjonijiet ambjentali jew sanitarji, u jistgħu wkoll jinjoraw għalkollox regolamenti eżistenti. Id-dispożizzjonijiet dwar “drittijiet vestiti” se jxekklu lil gvernijiet futuri milli jsaħħu l-protezzjoni ambjentali.

L-Abbozz 144 irid jirrestrinġi d-dritt tal-pubbliku li jappella deċiżjonijiet ħżiena tal-PA. Se jneħħi s-setgħa kollha minn idejn il-Qorti li tirrevoka permessi illegali, jillimita l-appelli għal raġunijiet legali limitati li jkunu ġew imqajma fl-istadju tal-oġġezzjoni, u jimponi skadenzi irrealistiċi. Tribunal mhux indipendenti se jkollu setgħa diskrezzjonali kbira, inkluża l-kapaċità li jibdel il-pjanti f’nofs il-proċess.

It-tliet avviżi legali li jakkumpanjaw l-abbozzi mhuma xejn ħlief amnestija totali għal żviluppi illegali, mingħajr ebda restrizzjoni fuq id-daqs, l-iskala, jew il-post. Anke żoni ODZ jew UCA se jkunu koperti, u dan se jħeġġeġ aktar abbuż u jirregolarizza illegalitajiet passati.

Dawn il-liġijiet huma ċarament imfassla in mala fede biex jaqdu l-interessi tal-iżviluppaturi a skapitu tad-drittijiet taċ-ċittadini, l-ambjent, u l-kwalità tal-ħajja tagħna. Għandhom jiġu kompletament irtirati, u minflokom jiġi mniedi proċess ta’ riforma ġenwin li jibda b’White Paper iggwidat mill-ġid komuni, u mhux mill-profitti tar-rgħiba.”

Għaqdiet
BirdLife Malta
Din l-Art Ħelwa
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar
Friends of the Earth Malta
Għawdix
Moviment Graffitti
Nature Trust – FEE Malta
Ramblers Association
Wirt Għawdex