Law allows controversial ODZ Rabat farmhouse construction via 'zombie permit'
The works, which faced objections, can legally proceed even though a 2023 planning application for the project was withdrawn in April 2025
Works on a controversial Outside Development Zone farmhouse overlooking a Rabat valley have begun after a legal notice from last year allowed approved developments to begin construction even if the permit had expired.
The works, which faced objections from hundreds of residents and the Rabat local council, can legally proceed even though a 2023 planning application for the project was withdrawn in April 2025.
Instead, applicant Alex Polidano will be able to rely on a planning permit that was granted eight years ago.
As a general rule, a Planning Authority permit is only valid for five years after it is granted. If works do not begin within that time, developers need to submit a renewal application or a fresh application.
However, in April last year, the government issued a legal notice where permits due to expire between January and November 2023 could be extended by three years.
Planning Minister Clint Camilleri issued Legal Notice 66 of 2025 under the Development Planning Act.
Polidano was able to make use of this provision for plans he originally applied for in 2008- almost 20 years ago.
Those plans for the construction of a one-storey farmhouse overlooking Wied Għexierem in Rabat were initially shot down by the Planning Authority because the development was outside the development zone, and a vernacular structure that could have been turned into a residence had been demolished.
However, the board overseeing planning appeals overturned the PA decision and gave the works the green light in 2018.
Despite having the legal authority to do so, work in the Outside Development Zone site did not begin by the permit’s expiry date, in 2023. Soon after the time elapsed the applicant re-applied, asking for PA1313/08 to be extended.
That application was met with outrage by many in the Rabat community.
Residents and the local council argued that the application puts the landscape value of the valley at risk and was in contravention of the Rural Policy and Design Guidelines.
As stakeholders, including the Environment and Resource Authority, objected, Polidano, who was assisted by his architect Robert Musumecci, withdrew his application.
“At that point, we had thought it was a win,” lawyer Claire Bonello told Times of Malta.
Bonello is representing several in the Rabat community who are opposing the development.
“Instead, we got this 'zombie permit'- no one can object to it or appeal the development because it was approved almost 10 years ago,” Bonello said.