Revisions to planning law changes near, but key hurdle remains

Updated Monday 10.30am with NGOs confirming they have not yet seen government revision.

Significant revisions to the proposed controversial changes to Malta’s planning laws appear to be on the horizon, with talks between NGOs and the government edging closer but at least one key clause remains a sticking point.

Sources close to the discussions said the government hopes to release a final draft of the revised planning bills for review by NGOs by next weekend, in what could mark a breakthrough in the current impasse.

“We went over every single clause – we clarified some, we amended some, we deleted some and, of course, there are some clauses we’re not going to agree upon,” one source told Times of Malta.

“Saying there will be major changes is perhaps an overstatement but there will be significant ones,” they added.

After two months of negotiations, civil society representatives also said notable amendments are being considered to the two bills that had sparked a widespread backlash earlier this year.

“What we have presented to the committee has been received clearly,” said Wayne Flask of NGO Il-Kollettiv, who advised caution.

Flask, along with activist Ingram Bondin and lawyer Claire Bonello, has been in talks with the government since the proposals first prompted uproar among civil society groups. Labour’s Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg has also been involved in the meetings.

Flask said much of the dialogue has focused on the direct impact the proposed amendments could have.

“We have worked hard to keep communication open with the government and many among the 11 resident groups we represented at the table have asked for increased dialogue with the authorities,” he said.

Flask maintained that bill 144 should be amended to ensure the suspension of works and justice for objectors while bill 143 should be scrapped altogether.

First published in July, the two bills immediately met with strong opposition from activists. NGO Moviment Graffitti described them as “a developer’s wish list” that would “dismantle nearly all remaining legal safeguards”. The group held two well-attended protests calling on the government to withdraw the proposals from parliament.

Grim Reaper protest greets MPs over the controversial planning bills in September.

In response to the backlash, the government set up a sub-committee to revise the bills. The committee includes Planning Minister Clint Camilleri, the prime minister’s head of secretariat, Mark Mallia and other ministers.

Sources said the government and NGOs have now reached agreement on most clauses in the amended bill 144, which deals with planning appeals procedures. The government is also understood to be revising a clause that would exclude business and commercial entities from benefitting from certain concessions.

The one major sticking point

However, the biggest sticking point is expected to concern which planning law would take precedence in cases of overlap, with sources saying the government could be inclined to push through with its proposal.

Flask has made it clear this is a red line.

“This measure has been proposed by a lawyer/architect with a clear pro-development interest, who is proposing that policies which he himself authored should become more important than the planning laws.

“I think the government should have had enough of the instability and bad publicity caused by Johann Buttigieg’s scheming and Robert Musumeci’s proposals and this attempted meddling with the rules is a key factor which led to widespread public anger.”

Contacted for comment, the planning minister said that the government is in “no rush” to pass the laws through parliament.

The government should have had enough of the instability and bad publicity caused by Johann Buttigieg’s scheming and Robert Musumeci’s proposals and this attempted meddling with the rules is a key factor which led to widespread public anger- NGO

He confirmed that, before the changes are published, the revised drafts will once again be shared with NGO representatives for feedback.

Earlier this month, Times of Malta revealed details of some of the government’s proposed revisions to bill 144, showing that timeframes for filing appeals would be relaxed and that a clause allowing developers to proceed with works if tribunals or courts failed to rule within a set timeframe had been dropped.

However, some of the more controversial provisions – including one preventing courts from annulling permits outright – remain under discussion.

Times of Malta has not seen any draft changes to bill 143, which seeks to overhaul the broader planning framework. But Camilleri has pledged to remove a contentious clause that would have allowed the Planning Authority to deviate from existing planning laws and policies.

NGOs: We have not seen the text, no agreement reached

In a statement on Monday morning, the NGOs grouped in the Gustizzja Għal Artna Campaign confirmed that they have not yet seen the changes which the government will make to the Planning Reform, since no draft has been circulated.

"The fact that talks have been held with the Government does not mean that any agreement has been reached," the NGOs said. 

"In the absence of any further information, the position of the campaign remains the same, that is that Bills 143, 144 and the legal notices should be withdrawn."