Planning Authority board member Alfred Pule has resigned to "avoid any doubts or speculation" over a potential conflict of interest involving the developer behind the recently approved Qala villa application.
It is understood Mr Pule sold a piece of land to Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli in 2017.
Mr Pule was one of the board members who last week voted in favour of plans by Mr Portelli to turn the ruins of a room in the Qala countryside into a large villa with pool. The approval has prompted outrage across party lines and Mr Portelli has since said he would not take up the permit.
Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg confirmed the resignation on Facebook on Thursday afternoon, saying that a member of parliament had brought to his attention the fact that someone on the PA board “might have a conflict of interest”.
Dr Borg said the MP, whom he did not name, had explained to him facts which he was “never aware of”.
The minister spoke to the person in question and they agreed he had not “direct or indirect interest” in any of the decisions taken while he was member. However, to avoid “speculation and doubt” the member would no longer sit on the board, Dr Borg said.
In an official statement later, the government said Dr Borg had accepted Mr Pule’s resignation.
Mr Pule also informed the minister he had sold a piece of land in Lija to Mr Portelli in 2016, the government said.
Research carried out by Times of Malta shows the Lija land was sold in 2017 and not the previous year.
When asked last week about the conflict of interest, Mr Pule denied he was in business with the Gozitan construction magnate but acknowledged he had sold a property to him a few years ago.
Attempts to contact Mr Pule yesterday following the minister’s declaration proved futile. Questions sent via e-mail remained unanswered.
In July, another board member, Matthew Pace, stepped down after a court found he should have played no part in a decision concerning the €300 million db Group City Centre project in Pembroke, due to his involvement in the sale of apartments within the development.
The court nullified the permit.