A judge ruled yesterday that the organisers of the trade fairs at Naxxar did not need a planning permit for their venture there.

Fair organisers TFEA Ltd filed an application against the Director General at the Commerce Department after it was denied a trading licence for a fair meant to start on Thursday, on the basis that it needed a planning permit.

The company argued that the decision was unlawful because the grounds in question had been used for fairs for 50 years, much before the setting up of the Malta Environment Planning and Authority and, therefore, no permit was necessary.

Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo upheld the company's argument, pointing out that the land in question had hosted fairs between 1958 and 2006. It was common knowledge that commercial fairs had been held at the Naxxar trade fair grounds for many years and that the fairs had been organised by the Malta Trade Fairs Corporations, in which the government was a partner.

Once the authorities had approved the previous fairs on the basis of the permit already held by the company, it was clear that the authorities intended such fairs to be legal.

The court, therefore, ruled that there was no need for the company to apply for any development permit to hold its fair and the director general was ordered to consider the company's request and decide upon it within four days.