The Rural Affairs and Environment Ministry said that the parliamentary approval of local plans, that included changes to the development zones, was carried out according to the SEA Directive of the European Union.

Replying to allegations made by Alternattiva Demokratika, the Ministry said that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had submitted draft local plans to the SEA Audit Team.

After verifying the information received, the SEA Audit Team said that Parliament’s approval was being carried out in the transition period during which the directive exempted member states from submitting plans and programmes that were initiated before 21 July 2004 and submitted to Parliament within 24 months.

Apart from this, the SEA Audit Team said that since the local process was at an advanced stage, and that it had been under consideration for years, it felt it was not viable that a strategic environment assessment be carried out, especially considering that the strategic phase of the process had already been completed.

This showed that the approval of the local plan was carried out according to the SEA directive and the laws of Malta.

The Ministry pointed out that if one were to compare the land up for development in 1987 with what is available today, there is a five per cent reduction in development zones.

Between 1989 and 2006, the area for development increased on an average of 0.8 per cent every 10 years, when the European average stood at five per cent every 10 years.

The Tal-Papa area in Birzebbuga had been included in the local plan that had been approved before 1996. The next step had been to formalise that plan.

The Ministry added that the land in question is owned by the government and will therefore not be used for land speculation to gain a political advantage.