(Adds MDA statement)

Another abusive permit was granted by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority last Thursday when it approved "abusive works" on a 24-house project on an Area of High Landscape Value at the Victoria Lines, on the sides of the valley beneath Madliena, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar and the Ramblers' Association said.

They said in a statement that the project was originally granted in January 2010, in spite of the fact that it violated all Mepa's regulations protecting landscapes on ridges, because the Major Projects Unit insisted that this hillside was not a ridge.

Paradoxically the development is actually called the 'Madliena Ridge' project, the associations said.

They said that the application for 10 plots on this virgin site was originally refused in 2008 as it contravened several policies.

How then could it have been approved in 2009 when the plans had become more abusive, increased to 12 plots, all substantially smaller than the one tumolo required by the local plan, they asked while maintaining that the permit was illegitimate and void since it violated the law.

The associations said that Madliena Ridge project was never referred to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage or the Superintendence of Fortifications even though it was evident that it would destroy the setting of the Victoria Lines.

Mepa's Heritage Unit condemned the project which destroyed protected carob trees and dry stone walls.

Last Thursday, the authority was requested to sanction works not built according to approved plans and other amendments.

The developers repeatedly claimed that the proposal was to reduce the project since the number of villas was to be reduced from 24 to 20 units. However, it was not made clear to the board that they were only joining units to make larger houses, retaining the same footprint.

The NGOs insisted that once Mepa had granted a permit that was in blatant breach of the local plan, the very least one expected from the authority was to avoid repeating abuse.

The architect of the project, they said, had been found by Mepa's auditor to be responsible for serious violations on the Ta' Baldu site of historic importance so one would have imagined that the Madliena site would be closely monitored.

Yet, the enforcement team stepped only after much of the illegal work was built and a stop notice was never issued.

"Permitting breaches of its policies time and again only serves to undermine the recent reform implemented on the Prime Minister's initiative, setting a very dangerous example that laws are there to be broken."

The NGOs said they urged the board to postpone the hearing by one week to allow registered objectors to get the assistance of an architect or to carry out a site visit to appreciate the impact of the proposed developments on the Victoria Lines.

But chairman Franco Montesin dismissed both requests.

"The pro-development Major Projects Unit and board chairman together have ensured that another abusive permit has been granted by Mepa.

"The fact that the developer has to pay a sum in compensation for project's negative impact is no more than blood money for the destruction of our fortifications and rural heritage," they claimed.

NGOs abusing right to object to any development - MDA

In a statement replying to the NGOs, the Malta Developers Association said that without entering into the architectural merits of the proposed development, MDA insisted that Mepa permits that respected the published and legally binding zoning and planning policies could never be termed as “abusive”.

"The use of this term by the two NGOs reflects an incredible arrogance that leads them to consider any development with which they do not agree as abusive," it said.

MDA said it acknowledged that individuals and organisations had a right to object to development proposals, but this right does not give them the faculty to arrogate to themselves the power to act as the final arbiters on development proposals, as the two NGOs did in this case.

"Indeed the spurious and irresponsible use of the term abusive is in fact an abuse of the right of the NGOs to object and disagree with any development," the MDA said.