Court declares Ian Borg’s swimming pool illegal, PA lambasted again

The Court of Appeal has declared a Planning Authority permit awarded to Minster Ian Borg and his wife to build a pool in an agricultural field at their home, situated in the rural hamlet of Santa Katerina on the outskirts of Rabat, as illegal.

The Court of Appeal has also chastised the Planning Authority for going against its own policies to accommodate the minister.

Declaring the minister’s development as illegal, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti ruled the objector, Noel Ciantar, had been correct from the outset when he argued the minister had no right to build a pool since the Local Plan did not allow for any such development.

The court’s judgement confirming the illegality places Borg in something of a legal quandary because even though he was aware the permit was being challenged, he still went ahead with the pool project and completed it in 2021.

When Borg was asked by The Shift at the time to explain why he was carrying on with the development when its very legality was being challenged before the courts, the minister, who at the time had the Planning Authority under his remit, dismissed the questions and insisted he was doing nothing wrong.

It is not yet known what will become of the minister’s pool now that the appeals court has declared it to be illegal.

Borg had been insisting for years on building the pool and entertainment facilities in the field he acquired under dubious circumstances, even though the planning policy and local plan covering Santa Katerina valley do not allow for swimming pools on rural land, as confirmed once again yesterday by the appeals court.

The saga dates back to 2018 when Borg first applied to build his pool in the field. Although it was against planning policies, the Planning Authority nevertheless issued the permit, which was later confirmed under appeal by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.

The objector challenged the issue before the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the permit.

Refusing to accept the court’s decision, the minister tried again by filing a fresh application – fronted by architect Colin Zammit, a regular beneficiary of government direct orders.

The new plans applied minor modifications to the development’s parameters. The Planning Authority once again gave the minister permission to proceed, but that permission has been struck down, once again, in court.

The minister went ahead nevertheless and completed the pool, in the process making a mockery of the planning regulations for which he had been responsible as minister.  Ian Stafrace, the former CEO of the Planning Authority, was Borg’s legal representation throughout the process.