Environmental organisations slammed the laissez-faire attitude toward illegal development, a problem they feel is getting worse and leading to injustices.
The NGOs were reacting to reports in Times of Malta on illegal restaurants running lucrative businesses, the latest being an unauthorised extension at the rear of Ronnie’s restaurant in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
Its operators submitted a planning application for alterations on the day the Labour Party was returned to power.
While the planning authority was still considering the application, the operators built a large structure to add at least 50 new open-air covers.
The government is using the excuse of bureaucracy to dismantle the very controls and safeguards that might prevent abuse
Din l-Art Ħelwa said the government was sending out the wrong signals. “Unfortunately, the message being received is that sanctioning is set to become easier. This will probably encourage even more illegal development when the situation is already very difficult as it is,” DLĦ’s Petra Caruana Dingli said.
New proposals whereby the planning authority would no longer be able to issue stop or enforcement notices before the usual final warning would not help the situation, she added.
Such changes implied a more tolerant approach towards illegal development. “People will quickly pick up this message and act accordingly,” she said.
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar also thinks abuse has increased. The situation was compounded by the fact that the Enforcement Directorate at the planning authority was still lacking a director, rendering it even more ineffective than in the past.
“This has resulted in a situation where ‘build now, sanction later’ is becoming the order of the day,” Astrid Vella, for FAA, said.
Besides the damage inflicted on the country’s natural and built heritage, she said the situation was also leading to injustices because abusers were enjoying the fruit of their illegal developments while honest citizens respected the law.
FAA felt that, in the case of commercial ventures, the principles of fair competition were being violated, especially in the case of restaurants.
“With such a proliferation of the culture of abuse, it is surprising this government is using the excuse of bureaucracy to dismantle the very controls and safeguards that might prevent abuse,” Ms Vella said.
Similarly, Friends of the Earth appealed to the government to implement the promise in its electoral manifesto that: “Malta should be at the forefront on environmental standards, not because there is an obligation placed upon us by European directives but because this is what best suits our children and generations to come.”
Instead, the government was solely committed to pleasing the construction lobby, the organisation said, pointing out that, last November, 12 NGOs marched in Valletta to express their discontent. “Matters only seem to have taken a turn for the worse. When large scale developers are generally perceived to be running the show, it comes as no surprise to see smaller businesses try their luck at catching some breadcrumbs,” FoE chairman Martin Galea De Giovanni said.
He made it clear this was not a problem brought about by the present administration.
“Over the past decades, short financial and political gains prevailed over other ethical considerations resulting in a culture of abuse and illegalities, FoE said.