The Rural Affairs and Environment Ministry has issued a statement rebutting the claims made by Alternattiva Demokratika that the rationalisation process, including the boundary amendment, near Wied Ghomor, Swieqi is illegal.

On Sunday, AD chairman Harry Vassallo had told residents of Wied Ghomor, who are objecting to the construction of 11 villas in the area, that the present conflict was caused by the illegal extension of development zones in June 2006.

The ministry said that the site in question forms a classic “infill gap” in terms of configuration and dimensions and is bounded by existing development on three of its four sides. Moreover, said the ministry, it is fully compliant with the criteria as established in the May 2006 cabinet memo on Local Plan – Rationalisation of Development Boundaries.

Changes to the development boundaries were subject to public scrutiny, and to the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Committee on Development Planning and of Parliament itself.

The statement also claimed that the courts had decided against AD’s request for the issuing of a prohibitory injunction on the whole process and pointed out that there is no anomaly in this case as the Structure Plan Explanatory Memorandum allowed for development in similar instances.

The ministry pointed out that AD officials had failed to refer to the conditions placed on the development of the site until the end of quarrying operations in a large quarry that lies to the south of the site.

Prior to 1989, said the ministry, much more land had been earmarked for development and in the hastened temporary revision that was effected, land was removed from the development boundaries in order to limit any further loss of land. However, it was always maintained that the development boundaries were to be permanently established during the process whereby the Local Plans were to be revised.

The government remains committed to safeguarding the countryside and the recent announcement on new legislation to curb illegalities committed in the Outside Development Zone (ODZ) is a case in point.

The statement concluded that government remains committed to safeguard the countryside and the recent announcement on new legislation to curb illegalities committed in the Outside Development Zone (ODZ) is a case in point.