Four eNGOs are warning the planning authority and the environmental watchdog that an application for stables adjacent to a protected area near Ta' Ċenċ Cliffs has been recommended for approval without taking into consideration the land ownership and use of the stables.

Għawdix, Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar have written to the chair of the Planning Authority and Planning Commission, as well as the Environment and Resources Authority about their concerns over PA/07996/21.

In a statement on Monday, the organisations said the application was on land that belonged to Excel Investments Limited, owned by developer Joseph Portelli and his partners. The stables, they claimed, were linked to a massive cluster of three blocks of flats amounting to 124 flats that have been green lighted by the PA.

Din L-Art Ħelwa has appealed against two of the blocks, and Moviment Graffitti is in the process of filing an appeal against the third one.

The NGOs flagged work on site that they said did not have a permit. Photo: the four eNGOs.

The NGOs also flagged work on site that they said did not have a permit, including the rebuilding of rubble walls and the extension of a dirt road to the cliff’s edge.

These have taken place partly over a Natura 2000 site and a Special Area of Conservation, they warned.

"The case officer has recommended approval of the stables without taking into consideration the use of the stables in this area.

"This goes against the spirit of policies that envisage that, in cases where stables are not on grounds of existing buildings, the PA would have to consider the use of stables and any impact that horse-riding might have on the surrounding countryside. This is all the more important in stables located near protected areas, as are the ones in Sannat.

"Yet the case officer assessed the application without taking any of this into consideration. The evidence shows that this is another example of the fragmentation of planning schemes in which different parts of a larger project are fragmented into smaller components and put in different applications by different individuals," they said.

The organisations said they will at the meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday calling for the reopening of the case or a fresh assessment.

The NGOs flagged work on site that they said did not have a permit. Photo: the four eNGOs.