The government’s decision to allow persons who build illegal structures to obtain a temporary compliance certificate in spite of the illegality is a retrograde step for the environment, Din l-Art Helwa said.

In a statement replying to an article in The Sunday Times of Malta, the organisation said that rather than solve the “endless list” of illegalities, the move may serve to make the list grow longer.

"The NGO notes that this follows several other recent contentious decisions, such as to increase hotel building heights including in Gozo, to reduce development application fees, to extend expired building permits, and to pursue major land reclamation projects without submitting any strategy to the public for comment.

"When viewed together, these decisions send the unfortunate message that the government intends to promote development without giving sufficient attention to the environmental consequences," it said.