The planning authority’s outside development zone policy will probably see more agricultural land used for construction, Alternattiva Demokratika has warned.

The green party said it hoped the move would not be used to justify the proliferation of more buildings outside the specified development zones.

Last month, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority said the policy would allow previously abandoned buildings to be revived and used for agritourism and similar projects.

AD deputy leader Carmel Cacopardo and agriculture spokesman Simon Galea suggested a policy to maximise existing buildings. “It would have been much better if the [Mepa] consultation document advocated the reuse of legally existing structures prior to proposing policies encouraging new construction on green land outside the development zone.”

AD argued the draft policy did not identify any particular area in Malta and Gozo that contained a significant number of abandoned agricultural buildings.

Neither did the policy propose any mechanism to stem the division of existing buildings into separate, smaller units.

The Malta Developers Association, on the other hand, said the policy was too restrictive.

The association said the policy was restraining those who would convert “ODZ atrocities” into “more aesthetically pleasing buildings”.

It appealed to the government to adopt “common sense” for truly sustainable development.

The deadline for submissions on the draft policy is today.