The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has ruled that NGOs, the Environment and Resources Authority and local councils have a right to appeal decisions on developments, despite having a seat on the Planning Board when decisions to grant are given.

The Planning Authority had argued that the Environment Resources Authority, local councils and NGOs had no right to appeal a decision taken by the Planning Authority (PA) to give a permit for the building of two high-rise buildings in Sliema since they had been represented on the planning authority when the major project was considered. The PA filed a similar argument against the right to appeal by NGO’s on the Mriehel towers.

Legal arguments dominated the first sitting held months ago, with the appellants arguing that this decision would set an ugly precedent since it would mean that the relevant organizations would not be able to appeal decisions on future major projects.  

In the case of the Townsquare project - the Sliema local council, Flimkien Ghall-Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth, the Ramblers Association, Din L-Art Helwa  and the ERA had filed an appeal.

In the case of the Mriehel development - Flimkien Ghall Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth, the Ramblers Association and Din L-Art Helwa filed an appeal.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal ruled that in both cases the entities have a right to appeal.

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said it welcomed the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal’s decision confirming the eNGOs’ and ERA’s right to appeal in the TownSquare and Mriehel high-rise cases. This decision shows that civil society has a legal right to be heard at all stages and for a of the planning process.  The NGOs Flimkien għal  Ambjent Aħjar, Ramblers Association of Malta and Friends of the Earth (Malta) condemn the Planning Authority for this attempt to silence civil society, scraping the bottom of the tactics barrel and contradicting its mission statement to “secure a balanced and sustainable environment for our community”.

The appealing NGOs FAA, Ramblers and Friends of the Earth, reiterated their intention to continue with their appeal and to oppose unsustainable development at every stage.