New planning Bills 'inflict irreversible damage' on Malta's environment

NGO Moviment Graffitti has slammed two government Bills tabled on Friday as a sweeping assault on Malta’s planning system, accusing the authorities of bypassing public consultation, dismantling legal safeguards, and handing unprecedented power to developers.

In a statement, Graffitti said the two Bills represent “a developer’s wish list” and “dismantling nearly all remaining legal safeguards”.

“This is nothing short of a full-scale takeover by developers, one that will inflict irreversible damage on our country’s planning system and environment,” Graffitti said.

Bill No: 143 of 2025 amending the Development Planning Act proposes over two dozen changes to the Development Planning Act (Chapter 552) granting the Planning Authority more flexibility to revoke permits, limit compensation payouts and intensify enforcement against illegal development.

The Bill updates the Act in a drive for “greater legal clarity and planning efficiency”.

One of the most consequential changes is a new provision allowing the Planning Authority to revoke or reprocess development permits in cases of fraud, public safety concerns, or material errors even after a permit is issued.

The measure gives the Planning Board the power to restart the planning process where it finds serious faults in how a permit was originally approved.

Crucially, no compensation would be due in such cases, unless the error or false declaration materially influenced the outcome of the application. This is part of a broader shift under the bill to narrow the scope of compensation, limiting it to direct costs rather than any drop in land value or development potential.

The new powers are time-bound: revocations may only be considered within one year of a permit being issued, unless they relate to public safety.

Meanwhile, the Planning Authority would gain more teeth in enforcement. The bill expands its power to issue “breach notices”, apply daily fines of up to €2,000, and carry out immediate site action — including removals or demolitions — without needing further court orders. The statute of limitations for enforcement action would be doubled from five to ten years.

Bill No. 144 of 2025, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal Act, will overhaul how planning and environmental appeals are handled in Malta, promising a more independent, efficient, and digitally streamlined tribunal system.

The bill seeks to align the appeals process with international standards of administrative justice by reinforcing judicial impartiality, setting out formal appointment and removal procedures for Tribunal members, and giving the Tribunal institutional autonomy.

Graffitti pointed out that the Bills would allow the Planning Authority’s Executive Council to alter local plans without restrictions and elevate planning policies issued by the PA above local plans.

The bills will also allow the PA Board to “deviate from planning policies, and enable the Planning Board to disregard environmental considerations.”

Graffitti added that the Bills “severely restrict” the public’s right to appeal planning decisions and appeals would be limited to legal issues raised during the objection phase, subject to “unrealistic” submission deadlines, handled through an “inaccessible” process.

Moreover, the Tribunal would be granted excessive discretionary powers, including the ability to alter plans mid-process and remove the courts’ authority to revoke a planning permit.