Amnesties for building works will ruin environment, reward illegalities - NGOs
Three legal notices issued for consultation
Amnesties for illegal development that the government is proposing amount to a brazen assault by powerful interests on its environment and the quality of life, a group of NGOs said on Tuesday.
The legal notices were issued recently in draft form along with consultation documents on amendments to the planning laws.
The NGOs said the proposed legal notices will see the government giving an amnesty and full development permit status permits for illegal developments built until 2016 within the development zones, and illegal structures built until 1994 in ODZ.
Moreover, concessions will be granted for illegalities up to 2024 in sensitive areas such as ODZ and Urban Conservation Areas.
"This will stop any enforcement against these illegalities, making them de facto legal going forward," the NGOs said.
They pointed out that while the prime minister had claimed these were changes intended to help “small-scale contraveners”, there was no limit on the size or intensity of the illegal development that may be condoned. None of the illegalities would have to conform to existing planning policies.
"The amnesty also extends to commercial operations, demonstrating that the Government is aiding and abetting rampant commercial speculation and becoming complicit in the destruction of agricultural and green land," the organisations said.
Third parties and NGOs would have no right to object or appeal to amnesty applications.
"This is a closed and opaque process in which the Planning Authority will decide, behind closed doors, how to continue destroying Malta’s environment, heritage and quality of life, while rewarding those who break the law.
"Rarely, if ever, has our country faced such a brazen assault by powerful interests on its environment and quality of life."
The NGOs noted that these legal notices came against the backdrop of two bills presented in parliament at the end of July, which would dismantle almost all existing safeguards in the planning sector and limit the public’s ability to challenge illegal decisions.
They insisted that both the bills and the legal notices should be immediately withdrawn, as they run counter to the fundamental tenets of decency and democracy.
"Should the Government attempt to run roughshod over the common good, we commit ourselves - together with other communities around Malta and Gozo - to fighting against this destructive onslaught of legislation designed to hand all power to developers and corrupt authorities," the NGOs said.
The statement was signed by Tuna Artna Lura, BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Għawdix, Il-Kollettiv, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust – FEE, MaltaRamblers Association, The Archaeological Society and Wirt Għawdex.