Confirmed: Planning Authority set to ensure Portelli gets permit for illegal ODZ pools struck down by court

The Planning Authority is poised to approve the sanctioning of two illegal swimming pools built by construction magnate Joseph Portelli and his business partners in Sannat, despite the Court of Appeal having revoked the permits in a landmark judgment.

An unnamed case officer has recommended that the Planning Board approve the sanctioning application, effectively paving the way for Portelli to retain the two ODZ pools that Malta’s highest civil court had declared illegal in 2024.

The recommendation confirms earlier revelations by The Shift, which, in 2025, exposed how the Planning Authority had initiated a series of administrative steps to mitigate the consequences of the Court of Appeal’s decision rather than enforce it.

The pools form part of a controversial development involving Portelli, his long-time business partner Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, and Daniel Refalo.

In March 2024, following legal action by NGOs, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti revoked the permits issued by the Planning Authority after concluding that they breached the Authority’s own planning policies.

One of the court’s key findings was that the two swimming pools could not be considered ancillary to the apartment development because they were separated from the residential block by a public passageway. As a result, they could not benefit from the Rural Policy provisions allowing such pools on ODZ (Outside Development Zone) land.

Yet instead of requiring the developers to remove the illegal structures, the Planning Authority embarked on a process that has fundamentally altered the site’s planning context.

Earlier this year, despite strong objections from residents and NGOs, the Authority approved a Planning Control application changing the status of the public passageway separating the apartments from the pools. While public access rights were retained, the land itself was redesignated as private open space.

A recent site visit by The Shift found that public access to the passageway has now been completely blocked.

At the time, environmental organisations warned that the move was specifically intended to remove the legal obstacle identified by the Court of Appeal and facilitate the eventual sanctioning of the pools.

Residents reported the blocked passageway to the police, arguing that the developers had effectively taken control of public land before obtaining the necessary approvals.

The latest case officer’s report now confirms The Shift’s reporting of what the Planning Authority planned to get the illegalities ‘regularised’.

According to the Planning Authority’s recommendation, the redesignation of the intervening land means the pools are now considered part of the apartment block’s curtilage, thereby satisfying the very planning requirement that the Court of Appeal had found absent when it revoked the permits.

In effect, the Planning Authority is arguing that, while the court’s decision was correct based on the planning circumstances existing at the time, those circumstances have since changed, allowing the same development to be approved through a fresh application.

The recommendation is expected to be endorsed by the Planning Board, despite continued objections by Din l-Art Ħelwa and the Environment and Resources Authority.