Chief Justice’s verdict on Sannat development overridden by developers – FAA

by Gozo News · August 14, 2024

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar has accused the Planning Authority “of sinking to new lows” by “conspiring to encourage unlawful acts with its decision to approve Joseph Portelli’s abusive penthouses on his Sannat development, declared illegal by no less than Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti.”

In a statement on Wednesday, FAA argued that “defying the highest court in the land, the Planning Authority has legalised these two penthouses following application PA 3869/24 to sanction them filed by Indian national Tarlochan Singh who declared that he was not the owner of the said penthouses.”

It stressed that “this PA decision came just five months after Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti declared the permits ‘illegal’ and ‘absurd’ since parts of the developments, involving large ODZ pools and extra floors, were completely illegal, in violation of the Gozo Local Plan and the PA’s own policies and laws.”

FAA said that “the court took to task the way the Planning Authority and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT, presided by Chairman David Mifsud Parker, along with Dr. Abigail Bugeja and Alexander Zammit) had both approved the penthouses and pools, against the recommendation of the Planning Authority’s own Case Officer.”

The NGO highlighted that the latter had advised the PA to refuse the application, emphasising that both the building and swimming pools “violated the PA’s own policies and guidelines due to the failure to ensure proper setback of the penthouse level and the pools being proposed on ODZ land.”

However, FAA said, “the members of the PA EPC Board, Mr Martin Camilleri (Chairman); Mr Anthony Borg and Mr Frank Ivan Caruana Catania, approved the permit including the penthouses which carry the highest selling price, explaining the developer’s need to legalise them.”

It pointed out that “since the Government has failed to act upon its promise to suspend works during the course of appeals, the developers went ahead and finished their development before the final decision was given.”

However, FAA said that the Court ruled that the Planning Authority and the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), again “misinterpreted” the rules “to issue the necessary permits for Portelli and his associates. The Court decision cannot be appealed and is final requiring the penthouses, as well as the communal swimming pool, to be demolished.”

FAA stated that “instead, an application to sanction was submitted through expedited, summary processing which is not allowed for Outside Development Zone sites such as this, and reduces the public’s opportunity to object to just 2 weeks, instead of the full 4 weeks. The penthouses were sanctioned, subject to a risible fine of €150.00 while the fate of the pools is not known.”

FAA argued that “the Planning Authority and the EPRT, along with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, are persisting in sinking this country into a mire of illegalities.”

“This latest violation of a Court decision issued by the Chief Justice, endorses the perception that we are living in a country where Joseph Portelli and his fellow developers have ultimate power over laws and court, as in a Mafia state,” said FAA.

FAA concluded by saying that “the Planning Authority has set itself above the courts which means that the rule of law no longer exists in Malta. The implications of this are extremely serious for the ordinary citizen is being denied the very basic elements of justice, as this annuls citizens’ efforts, funds and basic rights to seek legal redress against abuse, shaking the very foundations of our democracy.”