Less than a year ago, I invested in a property in the heart of Valletta to be my home. I have since come to discover that property ownership can quickly become a nightmare.

My property has all permits in order. It is located in the centre of Valletta, supposedly a Unesco World Heritage site with a ban on floor additions and other greedy projects that do not add to the overall beauty and livability of this great city.

Yet, the Planning Authority is now considering to allow a neighbouring building to add not one but two floors, which will consume considerable air space right next to Saint George Square. Furthermore, if approved, it will directly undermine the value of the residences in the vicinity.

Apparently, approval of such applications explicitly does not take into account the impact on views and congestion because the PA treats this as ‘’having no planning value’’. This is merely an outrageous excuse, one that must be really convenient for anyone looking to approve yet more brutal disfigurement of Malta’s sublime architectural heritage.

If the floor additions are approved, it will loudly signal an opaque legal environment in which there is zero credible legal protection for property owners. It will demonstrate that any developer, with the help of the PA, can encroach massively on national heritage and on existing properties. This is not a dignified reality for a EU member state.

In the specific case mentioned above, I encourage the PA to prove me wrong and reject this disgraceful floor addition proposal.

It is also my hope that the PA will start to protect the well-being and interests of existing residents and owners and make developers fully accountable for the pain and burdens their profit schemes afflict on others.

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