Campaign group awaiting government text of new changes to planning law
'The fact that talks have been held with the government does not mean that any agreement has been reached'
Environment NGOs taking part in the Ġustizzja Għal Artna Campaign said on Monday that no agreement has been reached with the government on the reform of planning laws because the text of the government's planned revision has not been seen yet.
The NGOs were reacting to a Times of Malta report on Sunday that the NGOs and the government had edged closer in talks but at least one key clause remained a sticking point. Times of Malta also said that the government hopes to issue a final draft of the revised planning bills for review by NGOs by next weekend, in what could mark a breakthrough in the current impasse.
The NGOs said on Monday that at the moment they had no visibility into the changes which the government will make to the Planning Reform, since no draft has been circulated.
The Campaign was thus not in a position to review any changes, and had not committed to any changes.
"The fact that talks have been held with the government does not mean that any agreement has been reached," the campaign said.
"In the absence of any further information, the position of the campaign remains the same, that is that Bills 143, 144 and the legal notices should be withdrawn."
Published in July, the two bills immediately met with strong opposition from activists. NGO Moviment Graffitti described them as “a developer’s wish list” that would “dismantle nearly all remaining legal safeguards”.
The campaign has held two well-attended protests calling on the government to withdraw the proposals from parliament.