The House of Representatives, set to move to Valletta's Freedom Square, cannot use a new building because the Structure Plan lays down that Parliament and ministries must be concentrated in palaces and auberges, according to Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.

The environmental organisation said it was informed that a planning board had decided on the relocation of the House and changed the Valletta Local Plan to accommodate the government's plans for City Gate, the Royal Opera House ruins and the bus terminus.

However, the FAA said the Structure Plan, which was legally binding because it was ratified by Parliament, still made the move illegal since it stated that Parliament could only be relocated to another palazzo in Valletta.

It also insisted that the issue of access to Valletta, once the road above City Gate was demolished, had not yet been addressed.

A traffic impact statement should have been drawn up and presented to a planning board before a decision of such magnitude was taken and certainly before works of demolition get under way, FAA said.