Be the first to comment!An open letter to Dr Lawrence Gonzi – From BirdLife Malta
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Voters need to know whether the proposed amnesty on “building irregularities” will include illegal development in countryside
1st February 2013
Dear Dr Gonzi,
BirdLife Malta considers that it is in the public interest for the Partit Nazzjonalista to explain in detail its Electoral Programme proposal on the sanctioning of “building irregularities”. The vague language and terms of the proposal leave it open to wide interpretation. We are concerned that it could mean the sanctioning of illegal development in areas Outside the Development Zone (ODZ).
BirdLife Malta is afraid that this proposal could be used to legitimise the illegal occupation of public land and the numerous breezeblock construction hunting and trapping hides that have sprung up all over the Maltese countryside in the last 30 years. We believe that Malta needs proposals that fight illegal development not that reward it with a stamp of approval.
In the voter’s interest we would like the Partit Nazzjonalista to answer the following questions:
Does the PN proposal to sanction illegal development include illegal development in ODZ areas?
Would this PN Electoral Program proposal mean that all buildings built without planning permission could be eligible to apply for an amnesty from the enforcement of their legal removal?
Would the proposed amnesty apply to the numerous illegal hunting and trapping hides (those built out of bricks and/or cement) built without planning permission on public and private land throughout the countryside in ODZ?
What does the PN proposal to sanction illegal developments exactly mean when saying that it will not cover those illegalities which are an ‘environmental blemish’? What is an environmental blemish for the PN?
Rest assured that once the Partit Laburista Electoral Program is published, their proposals will also be scrutinised in detail.
Best regards,
Steve Micklewright
Executive Director
BirdLife Malta
Photo by Birdlife Malta, which they say shows “a concrete trapping hide built illegally on public land in Mizieb, the FKNK managed huting reserve.”
