Front Harsien ODZ spokesperson Michael Briguglio said that buildings which followed regulations prior to the formation of MEPA should not be demolished.
While stressing that every property would need to be taken on a case by case basis, Dr Briguglio stressed that, from a planning perspective “If we are speaking of property developed illegally in a cowboy style then the logical thing to do is to remove illegal property”.
“If they were built according to certain regulations there might be a legal argument on behalf of the developers which one can understand. If they were built without any form of regulation or permit they should be demolished”.
He explained that there were regulations in existence prior to Mepa’s creation. “If development was carried out in accordance to regulations which were in existence then that is one thing. If development was carried out in a cowboy fashion where someone built up land illegally, then that is subject to demolition. In Malta we are already seeing a process where some are more equal than others. We really don’t need to see another process where some cowboys are more equal than common citizens”.
When indicated that property owners might very well have legal rights to those properties in question over time, Dr Briguglio explained: “Obviously if they have a legal argument then there is court and we agree with the rule of law as an organisation. We are clearly in favour of legal processes so if someone has the legal right to a development then he has the authority to keep that property, but if he doesn’t have the legal authority, then that’s another argument”.
Asked whether he believes it better to turn these sites for environmentally friendly uses or agriculture, he said: “This is why I said one must look at this on a case by case basis. There could be cases where it would be better for the environment to keep something in place, but that should be the last resort. Currently, as things go in Malta, the first option is to ruin the environment and the last resort is to justify that type of development, as the government has done with the Sadeen institute in Zonqor – where SPED said that ODZ land should have been chosen as a last resort yet government did the opposite, choosing it as a first option”.