On July 30, the Planning Authority sanctioned, through a summary application, a Joseph Portelli development of penthouses that was deemed illegal by the Court of Appeal in March, with a suggested fine of €150.

The sanctioning process, as indicated in the case officer’s summary procedure report, literally consisted of a box-ticking exercise, wrongfully denoting the conformity of the development with established policies. Whether the sanctioning of this illegality was a genuine mistake or a direct confront to the Court of Appeal is yet to be determined.

This article has been penned with great admiration for all the concerned NGOs, journalists, academics and other citizens who have publicly declared their disdain for the way the Planning Authority has degenerated; but none of that same admiration can be attached to the government and the political parties for the deafening silence still to be broken. 

It is now 32 years since the Development Planning Act established the Planning Authority and all the other structures that went with it in a noble effort to depoliticise building development and set planning on a professional path.

The legacy that each successive government has left and is leaving, through the Planning Authority, is nothing short of pitiful. Certainly, the concept of planning is non-existent and our post-1992 built environment is, sadly, in shambles and grossly devoid of any architectural merit.

The Planning Authority has served as the legal instrument to allow the rape of Malta and Gozo to go on with impunity.

Even when the Court of Appeal judgments of our chief justice decide against the Planning Authority and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal, the Planning Authority does not withdraw from the assault.

Judging by my personal experience as an architect dealing with the Planning Authority, the general perception is that it operates according to ulterior considerations rather than planning policy.

The Planning Authority’s mission and vision statement is being reproduced here. This is what they declare! But it is fiction on all counts.

Making Malta and Gozo a more pleasant and desirable place to live in: miserable fail.

Acting on behalf of the community to provide a sustainable environment: miserable fail.

Endeavouring to provide a better quality of life for the community through transparent and fair planning services, today and tomorrow: miserable fail.

Having values of fairness and transparency: miserable fail.

Values of efficiency and timeliness: miserable fail for most.

Sustainable development: miserable fail.

Integrity: miserable fail.

Neither Abela nor Grech have exhibited the political will to take the bull by the horns for the good of the community- Patrick Calleja

We once believed that the Planning Authority would serve as a guardian of our built environment, promoting sustainable development, protecting and preserving our historic buildings and the unique character of our urban conservation areas. We now evidently present Malta and Gozo as a patchwork of haphazard and incongruent developments with no end in sight to this regression and no vision or plan for the future. The Planning Authority is more of a scheming authority, devious and calculating, and our recently built environment has become a reflection of a grasping and selfish societal identity.

In 50 years’ time, the climate in Malta will be that of Egypt today. Nobody goes to Egypt to enjoy the climate but they do go to enjoy the wonderful and magnificent pyramids at Giza, the Valley of the Kings, the Luxor and Karnak Temples and the marine life in the Red Sea.

Our historic heritage, including our urban conservation areas and natural environment, should be protected and promoted to reflect our more admirable cultural identity and to retain a reason for discerning tourists to visit Malta and Gozo. 

This all seems so obvious, as it should be, but, despite this and various promises made, neither Robert Abela nor Bernard Grech have exhibited the political will to take the bull by the horns for the good of the community.

This unbridled and unplanned path has also severely affected our infrastructure and strained it to breaking point. In the absence of a reliable power supply, gravity is already manifesting itself as the only force left to direct the flow of our effluent. As they say, Nero fiddled as Rome burned.

This article does not reflect the sentiments of our organisation only. It also embodies the concerns and the aspirations of the constituents and communities that Abela and Grech represent. 

We urge the prime minister, in particular, to take immediate decisive action to implement the promise he made in a tweet on September 19, 2023: “Cabinet approves a fairer system for planning appeals. Measure will suspend the commencement of construction works until the appeal process would be exhausted.”

Reform the planning system and ensure the appointment of board members of known integrity. Nothing extraordinary.

What is holding you up,prime minister?

Patrick Calleja is executive president of Din l-Art Ħelwa.