The Malta Developers Association's members are "not interested in the regularisation of property in Outside Development Zones (ODZ)", the lobby said in a statement on Friday. 

Earlier this month, the PA announced that a scheme allowing property owners to pay to have their building illegalities ignored will be extended to properties that are partially in Outside Development Zone areas.

"Developers buy within the development zone and apply according to the planning policies. The MDA was and remains against any type of development in our countryside," the association said. 

Nonetheless, the MDA said it is in favour of the change and will be "backing the legal notice", although it will be proposing amendments. 

"The legal notice amendments issued for public consultation are a measure which will assist those many families that today cannot regularise a property within an ODZ area.

"These are properties which although covered with a building permit, have nonconformities which were allowed to take place over a number of years. Thousands of families cannot regularise their only property and whilst MDA is sensitive to the needs of these families, it will therefore be backing the legal notice and will be submitting some slight amendments to improve the said legal notice," the MDA said. 

Fifteen organisations have since called on people to object to what they are calling the Planning Authority’s "decision to give an early Christmas gift to law-breaking developers".