Environment NGO Din l-Art Helwa insisted again today that the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) is not an acceptable replacement of the Structure Plan and should be revamped.

It said in a statement that the government has still not explained why the feedback received from the public in 2012 and 2014 was practically ignored. The document presented to Parliament did not contain any changes emanating from this feedback which was submitted by various entities and the general public in two consultation exercises. 

"Moreover, new clauses have been introduced which further weaken the document, such as the clause stating that vacant land in rural areas can be developed on the basis of feasibility. The feasibility of individual projects should not be a policy direction in Malta’s main spatial planning document, particularly when guiding projects into rural areas. This can be given a very broad interpretation and opens a loophole to enable the development of large commercial projects in rural areas," DLH said.

It regretted that its appeals for this clause to be deleted had been ignored.

"This was one precious opportunity for Government to show it was serious about its intention to protect Malta’s dwindling open spaces from construction and development which it has failed to take," the NGO said.