Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544378
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 APRIL 2026 ANALYSIS Four fixes to end Malta's planning THE NGO-led campaign Ġusti- zzja għal Artna has so far focused on the immediate withdrawal of the controversial planning re- form outlined in Bills 143 and 144. The two bills, tabled last year in parliament, were triggered by a long due demand by NGOs to prevent construction work from starting while permits are still being appealed. But what had to be a limited exercise over which consensus existed was used as a Trojan horse for something far more radical—an overhaul of planning policies. The bills propose giving new discretionary powers to plan- ning boards to override long standing planning policies, while weakening judicial scrutiny. Two large protests managed to halt the government in its tracks and the bills remain frozen at Second Reading stage in parlia- ment. So far, the prime minister has refused withdrawing out- right. If an election is held next year the government is still in time to fix the broken system and mend fences with environmentalists by taking on board their proposals. But if an election is called in the next weeks, the two bills will ex- pire automatically with the leg- islature, leaving it up to the next government to chart a way for- ward. Now, the NGOs are presenting four clear proposals in an at- tempt to turn the table on both the government and the Oppo- sition. They are asking the two major parties to declare where they stand on four simple and clear demands: Suspending works during appeals; removing illegalities; prohibiting sanc- tioning in Outside Development Zones (ODZ); and reclassify- ing land removed from ODZ in 2006. MaltaToday gives the histor- ical context of each of the four demands made by the NGOs. THE PHYSICAL REMOVAL OF ILLEGALITIES NGO proposal Illegal developments should be physically removed once de- clared illegal. Enforcement of actions must not be indefinitely suspended by appeals. A cen- tralised "one-stop" enforcement mechanism is recommended, with fines accrued up to the point of removal remaining pay- able. Historical context Malta's planning enforcement system has historically been fragmented and weak. Caps on fines, suspension of enforce- ment during appeals, and dis- cretionary sanctioning allowed a culture of impunity to take hold. Enforcement procedures are also suspended when applicants file an application to regularise the illegalities. In a number of cases, when faced with an en- forcement order, developers block procedures in a two-fold way—they present an appeal against the enforcement order, while filing an application to sanction the same illegality with enforcement being delayed by years if not decades. Case studies A gate blocking a historic foot- path to Blata tal-Melħ in Baħri- ja was illegally installed in April 2021. Five years later the gate still stands despite an enforce- ment order issued by the Plan- ning Authority back in 2021 and its rejection of an application to regularise the gate in 2022, which was confirmed on appeal. The continued presence of the gate is the result of an appeal filed against the original enforcement order that is still pending with the next sitting due in May. Another classical case was the canopy erected in front of the Suq tal-Belt in Valletta which has yet to be removed. The can- opy was originally approved with a development notification permit issued in 2018, which al- lowed for a "one-time installa- tion of a permanent canopy" in front of the scheduled building. The permit was only valid for a year. Subsequently, the PA is- sued an enforcement order and in 2022, Arkadia Ltd applied to replace the illegal installation with retractable canopy struc- tures, which would have left a small central area in front of the listed Suq tal-Belt building un- With an election looming on the horizon, the Ġustizzja għal Artna campaign is raising the stakes by making four demands that address the main loopholes making a mockery of the planning system. James Debono takes a look at the historical context of each proposal. The Suq tal-Belt canopies, which have an enforcement order that is still pending years later The Montekristo Estates, a sprawling development on ODZ land, was regularised in 2025