Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday called on the government to drop the scheme to extend development boundaries and instead revise the local plans to make them more community friendly. AD was among the environmental groups that had highly contested the scheme when it was approved by Parliament in 2006. The party had filed a complaint with the European Commission claiming a breach of European directives.

AD argued that the planning rationalisation process breached EU law because it was not subject to an environmental study known as Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA).

But last month, the European Commission closed a three-year investigation and said it did not find fault with the way the government extended the development zones.

Speaking during a news conference in Attard yesterday, AD councillor Ralph Cassar called on the government to focus on increasing public open spaces.

Carmel Cacopardo, AD's spokesman on sustainable development, highlighted the overdevelopment in Malta, saying the number of empty properties was rising.