Gozo construction magnate Joseph Portelli is yet to ask the Planning Authority to revoke his controversial permit to turn a ruined room on the outskirts of Qala into an expansive villa.
Following the outrage that greeted the approval of his application, Mr Portelli declared eight days ago that he would “voluntarily renounce the permit with immediate effect”.
But a spokesman for the planning regulator told The Sunday Times of Malta that “no such request has reached the authority until the time of writing”.
A spokesman for J. Portelli Projects did not reply to questions about when and how the Gozitan developer plans to carry through with his renouncement of the permit, which for all intents and purposes still stands.
However, a source close to the company said “legal advice is being sought by the developers on how best to proceed”.
According to law, the Qala planning permit is valid for five years from the date of publication. Though the application has been approved, the permit has not yet been published.
The Qala planning permit is valid for five years
According to the Development Planning Act, the Planning Board can only revoke a permit if asked to do so by the applicant or any other interested party, which may also include the government.
An appeal may be filed to the Environment and Planning Appeals Tribunal in a bid to get it reversed.
“That process is still open and it is up to all those interested parties opposing this development to lodge an appeal in the permitted timeframe,” a PA source said.
Both the Environment and Resources Authority and the Qala local council have already declared their intention to appeal the PA’s decision.
The Qala property is set on some 4,000 square metres of agricultural land in the unspoilt countryside outside development zones and enjoys extensive sea and country views.
It was acquired through a contract signed last January between Excel Investments Ltd, a company owned by Joseph Portelli and Mark Agius, and a large family from Qala.
The developers paid €500,000 – far above the going market price for agricultural land in the area.
Within days of their acquisition, they had applied to turn the dilapidated room lying on the property, measuring 31 square metres, into a 200-square-metre villa on sprawling grounds that would include a swimming pool.
The PA’s Planning Directorate conducted a thorough study of the application and twice declared that it was contrary to all development policies related to the area.
However, the Planning Commission headed by Elizabeth Ellul, which decides applications for ODZ areas, ignored the objections and ordered the directorate to prepare to issue a permit. As the controversy around the application grew – with The Sunday Times revealing information which contradicted the developers’ claim that the room was once a residence – responsibility for the final decision was transferred from the commission to the Planning Board.
The majority of board members, all nominated by the government or the Labour Party, approved the permit, with the only members voting against consisting of board chairman Vince Cassar, ERA chairman Victor Asciak, Nationalist Party representative Marthese Portelli and the NGOs’ representative Annick Bonello.