Joseph Portelli’s Sannat penthouses: “PA has become disgusting, and this will not stop here” – DLH President

Patrick Calleja, the President of Din l-Art Helwa, has called the Planning Authority’s (PA) decision to overrule a Court of Appeal judgement and sanction a row of illegal penthouses built by rogue developer Joseph Portelli in Sannat as “a disgusting act”.

Speaking to The Shift, Calleja said he was in disbelief at how the PA has become a rubber stamp for big developers, to the extent that it is now even going against the highest authority of the rule of law in Malta – the Court of Appeal.

“It is unbelievable that after years of fighting off clear abuse, where the PA issued an irregular permit to serve the interests of big business, it is now even ignoring the highest Court by overruling its decisions.”

Vowing that Din l-Art Helwa and other environmental organisations will not accept this situation, Calleja insisted that his organisation is already contemplating various measures it may take to challenge the latest decision in contempt of Malta’s rule of law.

The Shift reported how, through the services of Elizabeth Ellul, the recently reappointed chairman of a Planning Commission dedicated solely to Gozo permits, a decision by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti was overruled.

Instead of observing the Court of Appeal’s ruling in 2024, declaring Portelli’s penthouses illegal and their permit revoked, Ellul and her Commission’s associates, Cornelia Tabone and Pierre Hili, ignored the Court and voted to sanction Portelli’s illegality.

Following the 2024 Court decision, Portelli and his associates, Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, and Daniel Refalo, did not modify their illegally built penthouses.

Instead, through an application fronted by two of their employees, Portelli and his associates requested the sanctioning of their illegalities.

Ignoring the decision of Malta’s highest Court, Ellul approved the sanctioning.

Sources close to the PA told The Shift that this was a new trend being adopted by the PA, led by CEO Johann Buttigieg, to circumvent Court rulings.

“Whenever the Court is revoking a permit, PA officials are informally recommending that the developers involved file a new application for sanctioning. In that way, the case is treated as a new application, and the sanctioning is approved. Through this system, the Court has become irrelevant for the PA,” the sources said.

Portelli, through Ta’ Dirjanu, has already filed another application to sanction two ODZ pools, built in the same block in Sannat, and declared illegal by the Court of Appeal.

A decision by Elizabeth Ellul’s Commission is expected soon.