NGOs raise the alarm on developments approved defying court rulings

A coalition of leading environmental and heritage organisations has issued a renewed and urgent call for reform of Malta’s planning appeals framework, condemning what they describe as a “grotesque” legal loophole that allows construction to proceed while appeals are still under review.

The coalition, which includes BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Nature Trust Malta, the Ramblers Association, and Moviment Graffitti, among others, expressed alarm that over two years have passed since Prime Minister Robert Abela acknowledged the failings of the current system and promised reform.

More recently, the Planning Authority’s chief executive, Johann Buttigieg, pledged that the necessary changes would be introduced within three months—a deadline that has also come and gone.

Under current legislation, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) may reject requests to suspend construction pending the outcome of an appeal. Such a situation, the organisations argue, is unparalleled in other regulatory domains, where contested decisions are typically placed on hold while legal processes are concluded. The result is that substantial developments, later found to have been approved unlawfully, are often completed before any ruling is handed down.

This has led to a series of highly controversial outcomes. In Qala and Sannat, large-scale developments were constructed and later declared illegal by the courts. Yet, instead of enforcing demolition or remedial action, the Planning Authority has—in a move the organisations describe as a clear affront to judicial authority—reissued permits to “sanction” these same buildings, effectively circumventing the courts’ decisions.

The latest flashpoint concerns an apartment complex in Xewkija. The developer, known locally as “il-Ġiegu”, is currently seeking to regularise the building through three separate applications (PA/07954/24, PA/01133/25, and PA/01155/25), despite the original permit having been annulled by the Court of Appeal in 2023 for violating planning regulations. The Planning Authority is scheduled to consider the applications on 24 June and 1 July.

The coalition warns that the continued use of sanctioning permits in defiance of court rulings is eroding public trust in the planning system and undermining the very foundations of the rule of law.

While the government has signalled that reforms may soon be tabled, the organisations caution that any changes must serve the interests of justice and the public good, not merely administrative expediency. They express particular concern over indications that forthcoming legislation may impose tight deadlines on the appeals process, potentially limiting the ability of affected parties to prepare adequate responses, especially in complex cases involving Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

“The right to a fair and meaningful appeal must not be sacrificed for speed,” the coalition stated, adding that effective public participation in the planning process is being severely curtailed by the proliferation of illegal developments and the growing trend of post-construction regularisation.

“The proliferation of illegal buildings in this country — and the new practice of sanctioning them after court rulings — is severely undermining justice in Malta and crippling the public’s ability to participate democratically in the planning process.”

As frustration mounts, the organisations are now urging the Prime Minister to act decisively. “We therefore call on the Prime Minister to immediately enact this basic and essential reform, and to stop sidelining our quality of life, undermining our courts, and sacrificing our islands to the forces of greed.”