Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar condemns the planning amnesty rolled out by the Planning Authority in what it said was a transparent attempt to legalise the illegal and serve as a further payback to the construction lobby.
“The dismantling of existing planning and urban controls and the absolute lack of enforcement will lead to further planning chaos, urban congestion and poor standards of living, as malpractice and abuse within the construction industry keeps being rewarded.”
The new scheme, valid for two years, allows buildings (or parts of buildings) not covered by a permit to be regularised as long as they are within development zones and do not constitute “an injury to amenity”, such as disturbing neighbours or the environment.
The use of the building also has to be in line with the policy for the area and the development must be visible in aerial photos taken by the PA earlier this year.
Previous legislation, the FAA said, had already allowed owners to attain a form of concession for their illegalities on condition that they fit within clearly defined minor irregularities, since anything in excess was considered unsanitary or uninhabitable.
The new amnesty, it said, made no such distinctions between types of irregularities, paving the way for developers to get clearance on major illegalities, with all decision-making at the sole discretion of the Planning Authority.
This legislation, FAA said, contravened EU law as there was no clause stating that the decision-making process should be carried out in front of the public, blatantly dismissing the rights of neighbours and third party stakeholders.
The removal of the term illegal, it said, by no means changed the illegal conditions of these buildings, and left potential buyers at risk of investing in unsanitary substandard properties. At the same time developers were encouraged to continue to maximise their profits by building such illegal properties which they could legalise later.
The amnesty also had a weakening effect in the economy as ethical developers who went through the extra expense to comply with regulations faced unfair competition from cowboy-contractors who were handsomely rewarded for their abuse.
“The Labour government continues to reward illegality. Political opportunism and environmental insensitivity are the hallmark of the current administration. Under the convenient euphemism of regularising the minor contraventions of hard-pressed first-time buyers, the Labour Government is giving major contraveners a fast track amnesty procedure, promoting and encouraging Malta as Illegality Island,” FAA said.