Fines don't solve problem of illegal development: ADPD

The ADPD on Saturday accused the government of favouring the "speculation brigade", insisting money did not fix the issue of illegal development. 

“Fines to facilitate the issuing of permits for illegal development do nothing to solve the problem except to pass on the message that you can buy anything you desire if you have the money, even if it is not yours to buy," the party's chair Sandra Gauci and deputy chair Carmel Cacopardo told the media outside parliament. 

Cacopardo claimed the government was continuously giving speculators greater flexibility while at the same time weakening any protection granted to protect land and residential communities.

"One of the most obvious steps that the government must urgently take is to ensure that when an application for a development permit is turned down, and an appeal is lodged, no development should be permitted until the appeal is concluded.

"While the government has been saying that it is in agreement with this, unfortunately, it appears that the government has been dragging its feet in putting it into law," he said.

He said the government had engaged in a non-stop onslaught on land that fell outside the development zone by trying to facilitate the development of sports facilities for speculation purposes. 

"A number of sports facilities are already built on ODZ land... How can a government be considered credible about open spaces, when those open spaces provided by nature are being sacrificed on the altar of speculation?”

“The same is happening about illegal development outside designated development zones.  It is a grave mistake to issue permits for buildings that were illegally built in ODZ areas over the years.

"We are continuously sending the wrong message that environmental damage can be rectified by paying a fine. These fines do not solve anything. They simply transmit a dangerous message that anything can be bought, including what does not belong to you.  It also implies that money is absolution, and the environmental damage will be forgotten."

Gauci added that the pending bills on land planning presented by the government would make it difficult for civil society to follow and present submissions on development proposals. 

These bills will reduce the timeframe within which third parties can appeal decisions taken by the Planning Authority, she said.

“The bills also introduce more flexibility in the application of planning policies, which would inevitably end without knowing for certain what regulations and policies are applicable. 

"It is crystal clear that the bills presented for the consideration of parliament are the result of pressure to have the PA be less stringent in its duties, abdicating its planning responsibilities and end up being a permit factory."